Tangled Tentacles
by spike1970
Summary: Based on the Doujinshi Tales of Tentacle by Valssu. Rita agrees to help with a biological expedition to Kiev Moc, but soon finds herself involved in something more sinister. Rated M for sex, drug and alcohol use, language, and violence.
1. A tale of Tentacle

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Vesperia, Nor any of it's characters, they are the property of Namco-Bandai.  
I do not own Tales of Tentacle, That's the property of Doujinshi artist, Valssu.  
This story takes place a few months before the game.**_

* * *

_**TALES OF VESPERIA: TANGLED TENTACLES**_

_**part. 1 A Tale of Tentacle**_

* * *

_**(The Forest of Kiev Moc)**_

_**(Rita's POV)**_

"ACK! LET ME GO, YOU STUPID MONSTER!" I yelled as this creature, which looked like a deadwreath with a flat top, grabbed me with its red tipped green tentacles before I could cast anything. Dammit where's Fidi!? He probably ran off the instant it showed up and just left me here, COWARD! Next thing I knew, the damn thing forces one of its tentacles into my mouth. "NNGH! MMN! MMN! MMMMN!" Was all I could say. Seriously, what in the world is this monster...? "MMN! MMN!" What is it trying to do? It doesn't look like it's trying to eat me that's for sure... Then I felt what appeared to be a...tongue...? "MMN! MMN! MMN!" I knew it... The stupid monster's deep-kissing me! YUCK! "PUAH!" I manage to spit the tentacle out. I noticed that my hunch was right; it did have a tongue, a blue tongue! How did I get myself into this...? I Never should have done a favor for that guy! Dammit!...

* * *

(A few weeks earlier, Aspio, Rita's hut)

I was doing work in my lab, trying out some formulas when that jerk for a scholar, Fidi Vanité came barging in. Jeez doesn't anyone knock anymore? "This had better be good, Fidi, I'm in the middle of something." I said.

"I need your help for a zoological investigation that's being funded by the Council." Fidi replied, He then explained what they want done...

"An investigation in the Forest of Kiev Moc?" I replied. "No way. Why should I..." Let's face it if it were anyone else, I might agree to it. But Fidi has something of an inferiority complex, and he's not too crazy about me since I criticized him on several flaws in one of his formulas, if he or anyone else tried to use said formula without making the corrections...BOOM... and there wouldn't be enough of you to put in a coffee cup. He thought I did that to humiliate him. Guess by now he's gotten over it, otherwise he wouldn't be asking me this.

Fidi continued to beg his case. "Come on, I'm begging you. The monsters are really strong over there, So I can't handle the investigation myself."

"That's all the more reason why I don't want to do it." I replied. Let's face it the monsters in Tolbyccia are pretty tough. "Why don't you have the guilds take care of it for you? You could even ask the knights." I mean that's what they're for.

"There are certain reasons why I can't ask them." Fidi replied. Why does he want the guilds and the knights outta this? "Of course I'm not asking you to do this for free." Wonder what he's offering... "The other day I excavated a blastia..." He excavated a WHAT!? "And if you go and investigate for me, I won't mind giving it to you." So he's offering me a blastia...Wait a sec...

"You always told me never to touch those..." I said. Part of the reason I think he's a jerk was because he won't let me examine the blastia artifacts that he finds...Most of the other scholars, on the other hand, let me examine their finds. "What's with the change of heart...?" Why is he being so generous?

"It just goes to show how important this investigation is for me." Fidi explained. Well that's acceptable I suppose, and I do want that blastia.

"Hmph...Fine. I'll go. What is it you want me to investigate?" I agreed to his proposal.

"Lately a new type of monster has appeared there, and I want you to collect a sample from its body." Fidi explained.

"Sounds more like a mercenary job than a simple investigation..." I replied. "Fine, just make sure you don't forget about the blastia."

Yeah...I'll be counting on you."Fidi smiled.

* * *

(The Forest of Kiev Moc, now)

When I took on the job, I'd thought I'd be able to get it over quickly... How could this have happened...? "AH! Wait! Don't slide those things under my clothes!" This monster's been doing strange things to me for the past little while... like sliding its tentacles inside my clothes, and now it's licking me...! _*lick lick*_ "AAHN!?" It's licking the back of my neck and between my legs. EWWW! Wh...Why in the world is it doing all this!? "Stop! Hey! Ah!"  
Are you kidding me!? Now that damn thing has pulled my jacket open. "AH! W...Wait..." I cried as I felt its tentacles slither across my chest. "No! Stop! AAHN!" Now it's licking my nipples! Just my frigging luck, I had to be caught by a perverted monster! "MMMN! AAHN! AAH! No! What are you doing!? _*suck suck*_ AH! Stop! AH! AH!" No way! They're not only licking me, they're sucking on me as well!  
"L...Let go of me...AH!" I cried as that monster continues to lick and suck on my breasts. "No! You can't! Don't suck on me there!" But that stupid thing won't listen. How can it do this...? I've never had my breasts touched by anyone before... And yet, this monster is touching them, licking and sucking them... C'mon I'm only fifteen, I'm too young for this crap! Somebody, HELP ME!_ *lick lick lick*_ "MMN! AH!" _*suck suck suck*_ "NNGH!" Oh no...Why...? It feels so good all of a sudden... What's going on here!?  
It feels so much different than when I touch myself. "AH! MMN!" I moaned as that monster placed me on the ground and took my jacket clean off. "If you keep sucking on them like that...Ah!" I...I never knew that having my breasts licked and sucked like this... "_*lick lick suck suck*_ Noo! _*lick lick suck suck*_ No more.._.*more lick lick more suck suck*_ Mmn!" Could ever feel so good... I had no idea... "_*deep kiss deep kiss*_ Mmn! Ah..._*lick lick*_ Fuah! Hah..._*suck suck*_" I...I don't know why it's doing this to me... But it's a 'plant' monster, right? These secretions it's letting out...  
...They're so sweet and delicious. "Mmn! Mmn! Mmmn!" I moaned, letting it lick my tongue. The way it's wrapping around my tongue feels so good... Is this what it's like to kiss someone? My tongue swirls around its sweet tasting tongue... My head feels...Kinda fuzzy... Then I felt it pull down my shorts! "AH! Hey...Wait a minute!" I yelped.  
It lifted me off the ground again. "No! Don't!" I yelled. "Hey...Wait!" I just realized it plans to...EWWW!... Lick my privates! "Don't tell me you're planning to lick me down there too!?" I felt two of its tentacles clasp on to either side of my vaginal slit. "AAHN!" Then I felt them prize it open. 'AH! No! Don't!" Then I felt it...LICK! "AAAHN!" I yelled. It's licking my vaginal opening! Oh GROSS!  
"Oh no...ah!" I yelped at that thing licked my vaginal slit. "_*lick lick lick*_ AH! Don't! what is this!? AH! AH! AH!" I can feel its tongues sliding in and out. "_*lick lick*_NO! Not there! AH!_*lick Liiiccckkk*_ Aahn! AAAAH! Don't! FUAAAH!" Am I moaning...? Is that really my voice...?  
It... It feels so good... I don't know what to do... "AH! AH!" I can feel several of them licking my vaginal opening. "I need to make it stop... NNGH! AAAH!" I cold feel it licking my nipples. "AH! AH!" And it's even licking my armpits! "No! Ah! AAHN!" Oh no... If this goes on any longer... "* Lick lick lick* Oh no! Not there! Don't! AH! AAHN!" I...I can't believe this disgusting monster is starting to lick my arse... Ewww! I hope it gets hepatitis!  
Ah! What's going on with my Body!? I'm gonna cum! I'm gonna cum! AH AH! AH!" I screamed. "EEK! AAHN! HAH! AH! AAAAH!" Oh my god! I'm cumming! "AHG! AH! AAAAAAAH!" I came! "HAH... AAH... AH!" And that monster's still licking me.  
"Hah...Mmn!" I moaned, exhausted from my first orgasm. I came... I can't believe that a monster actually made me cum. "Mmn... Ah... Mmn... AAHN! Huh!?" What the!? Now that monster's pushed one of it's tentacles into my vaginal opening! "No! No way! It's going inside me!" I yelped, kicking desperately trying to shake it out. "No pull it out! No! Don't!" I felt it wriggle inside of me! "FUAH! It's moving around." I struggled and squirmed. "Noooo! AH! MMN!" Like I said earlier; I'm too young for this crap! HELP!  
Why? Even though it's my first time it doesn't hurt... I fact, it feels good... "Agh! Fuah!" I moaned. I get it... It must be because it's so soft and slender... It's not enough to break my hymen... "Oh no! Don't Thrust around inside like that!" I felt it wriggle around inside of me. "Don't move... Mmn! Ah!" Then it starts licking mt tongue again, the taste is even sweeter... "Mmn! Aahn! Nngh! Mmn! Mmf!" Now what's it doing? "Mmn! Haah! Don't..."  
Ah! It's licking my arse again... and it's sucking on my clitoris too... "Mmf! Mmn! Mmn!" Oh no...I'm really sensitive there...! "Mmn! Mmn! Mmn! Ah! Mmn!" then I felt something going on at my arse. "MMN!? MMMN!"  
Are you kidding me!? "AAAHN! Now it's going up my arse...! Oh no...AAHN!" Right now this thing one tentacle just inside inside my mouth, one tentacle inside my vaginal opening and one tendril inside my arse. And all three of them are licking me, not to mention it's still got two of its tendrils sucking on my nipples! "I... can't take it! MMN! Mmn! MMMMN!" Oh no... I'm getting close... I'm gonna cum even harder than before... "MMN! MMN!" I'm gonna cum... AGAIN!  
"MMN! HAAH! AH! AAAAH! AAAAAAAH!" I screamed in ecstasy...again. "Ah! Ah! HAAAH!" I felt the tentacles leave my vaginal opening and my arse. I... I feel like I'm about to faint...  
"Hah...Ah..." I felt something touch my vaginal opening. "Ah! Not again! Stop... Mmn..." I noticed that there was something...different about this particular tentacle. "Oh no... That one's so big...!" I felt it enter, It hurt! "It... It's going to tear through my hymen! AH!" I suddenly screamed from the PAIN of my hymen tearing. It's quite obvious now, that thing's REALLY RAPING ME! "It's going inside! EEK! AH! AAAH!" Oh god! The PAIN! "EEK! MMN! I can feel it throbbing inside me! AAAH! It's going inside me! HAAH! It's... so hard...!" I cried out in pain.

"I see... Does my dick really feel that good, Rita?" Said a voice That was right... Behind me?

I turn my head to see who it was. "Huh!? No... It can't be..." I said in surprise to see it was non other than Fidi. And it was him that was raping me! "Why...Why are you...?"

"I'm enjoying this too! Your virgin pussy is the best! _*thrust thrust thrust*_" Fidi drives his dick deeper into me.

"AAHN! AH! AH! No! Pull it out! AAHN!" I cried. No way... I'm being raped... I can't believe I'm being raped by him! "Stop... MMN! AAH!" And yet... Why does it feel so good!? "AH! AH!" It's so thick and hard! AAAH! It feels so good! "UAAH! AAAH!"

"Rita, I've waited for my chance to get revenge ever since you made a fool out of me." Fidi snarled.

"MMN! AH! So stiff! AAAH!" I cried. Fuck me harder and harder, Fidi! Huh? Did I just think that!?

"And ever since I excavated that blastia, I've been able to manipulate monsters." Fidi explained as he thrusted.

"HAAH! HAH! You're turning me inside out! AAAH!" I moaned. It feels so good! I can barley think anymore!

"Ha ha ha! After researching this type of monster for a client that wanted me to acquire it for him, I realized that I could use it to get my revenge on you." Fidi said.

"AH! Not there! I'm so sensitive! AAAH!" I cried as that thing licked at my clitoris.

"It's tentacles feel pretty good, don't they?" Fidi gloated. "It's secretions contain a powerful aphrodisiac that's used by the local prostitution guilds."

I wasn't sure what he was saying as both me and the creature were licking each others tongues. "MMN! HAH! MMMN! MMN!" I felt Fidi thrust his dick deeper into me. "AAHN! AH! It's going in so deep!"

"You seem gratified to have your hymen broken, Rita." Fidi snarled between thrusts. "Next, I'll train you to become a slutty sex slave incapable of living without getting fucked by dicks!_*thrust thrust thrust*_" I cloud almost hear the hate in his voice.

"AH! AH!" I cried. "So deep! It's in so deep!" He somehow turns me around and starts deep-kissing me. "HAAH! FUAH! MMN!"

"I'm gonna fuck you every day while you call me master, you little bitch!" Fidi gloated.

And we continued to thrust and deep-kiss. "Nngh! Mmn! Mmn! Mmn! Mmmn!" While the tentacles wrapped around us.

"Does your master's dick feel good, Rita?" Fidi asked.

"HAH! It feels so good!" I drunkenly answered. "Fuck me harder! Harder!" I pleaded, I wanted more and more!

"Speak to me with respect, bitch!" Fidi started thrusting intensely into my body.

"AAAHN!" I screamed. "So hard! I can feel it! AAHN! EEK! My insides are throbbing like crazy! AHAAH!" I screamed louder.

"Here's your fucking punishment!" Fidi growled. "I'm gonna spray all my cum inside you!"

"Oh no! EEK! I'm gonna cum!" And then I came. "EEK! AAHN! HAAAAAAAAH!" And I screamed REALLY loud. My ears were ringing! "AAHN! MMNAAAAH!" I screamed some more. I was still cumming. "Fuah! Hah... Ugh! It's grinding around inside of me!" I moaned. I felt something gooey ooze inside of me.."Something is pouring into me..." Is this what it feels like to have a man...cum inside of you? "There's so much...Ooh! Ah... Hah..."

* * *

(A few days later, in a sleazy hotel in Dahngrest)

"Mmn! Mmn! Mmn!" I moaned as I sucked on Fidi's dick.

"Here it comes, Rita, make sure you don't spill any!" Fidi ordered an I felt his cum enter my mouth.

"Mmf! Mmn! MMMMMN!" I swallowed his cum down. My stomach felt sick, but I don't even care.

"Whew... It's no wonder they call you a genius. Your a fast learner." Fidi commented in an almost patronizing, sarcastic tone, but I don't even care.

"Ahah! Master... This time, please pout it all into my pussy!" I pleaded for more sex from my master Fidi Vanité. I don't even care if I'm a slave anymore... I... I just want to feel good as possible...

* * *

(The Dahngrest dockyard, sometime later, standard POV)

As Fidi watches his monster be loaded into a crate made for it, and then said crate loaded into a freighter bound for Zaphais, he is soon met with by Ragou, Gradana and Barbos. "Ah, lord Ragou, Lord Gradana, Lord Barbos, How nice to see you." Fidi e_nchantéed _the three villains. "As you three can see, your creature is being loaded as we speak."

"Ah, Excellent, Fidi." Ragou smiled, pressing his fingers together. "I'm impressed that you were able to catch him, no doubt the monster controlling blastia you found worked as advertised... After we had it restored for you and converted it into a Hermes blastia to make it strong enough to control such a monster of course."

"Not that I'm complaining, Ragou, but why would you want a wild valssuwreath?" Barbos asked looking at the large crate with his one eye. "You know we could supply you with all the Tentacle Syrup you need from our domesticated valssuwreaths."

"True, Barbos, But for my little 'project' I wanted a wild one, and a male no less for the person I want its nectar to control."

"Not that I care about who it is you want to enslave, my lord, since I already got mine..." Fidi interjected. "But who are you after?"

Ragou smiled. "Oh no one special, just the princess herself, heh heh heh." The others gasp in surprise.

"Woah, You're going to use it's syrup on Estellise?" Fidi said, a look of surprise on his face. "No wonder you wanted a wild male, it's true that the nectar of a wild valssuwreath is more potent than a domesticated one. I ought to know, I road tested it on my... assistant. It's quite effective, and now she's my personal slave that I fuck everyday. I'm putting her aboard too, so feel free to...use her as well."

"Thanks but I'm not interested." Barbos replied. "I don't do rape. Murder and mayhem yes, rape no." Apparently for a villain, even Barbos has standards.

"Maybe you won't Barbos, but we will, Fidi, we certainly will, guhihihi!" Gradana laughed. Barbos just shakes his head. "Do you want me to break Estellise's virginity?" He rubs his hands together.

"No need for that, Gradana." Ragou answered. "I've arranged for a couple of rather perverted peasants to break her in for us so if they(the castle)found out, they'll(the peasants)take the fall. And no doubt I'll have a few backup plans in case we're found out." Ragou notices that the creature is finally loaded. "Well then, It's time we boarded." And Ragou, Gradana, Barbos climbed the gangway to the freighter followed by Fidi, leading Rita along with a leash attached to her new collar on her neck where her bodhi blastia once was. Soon the freighter casts off and heads out to open seas, next stop; Zaphais.

* * *

_**(End part 1)**_

_**Author's Notes:**_

_**This chapter is a novelization of the hentai doujinshi, Tales of Tentacle by Valssu.  
I should give credit to Saya at SaHa Scanlations for scanlating this doujinshi, otherwise I would've had to gag-dub it.  
I'm planning on resolving this doujinshi, and some of his other ToV doujinshis over the next few months give or take.  
**__**The part I added after Rita's POV is to connect it to Scattered Moon, which happens a few weeks after this chapter.  
**__**I decided to call that critter a valssuwreath in 'honor' of the person that created him, it should be noted that these creatures are the source of the infamous drug in all of Valssu's ToV doujinshis.  
**__**As Valssu characters go, I consider Fidi (that's the name I gave that scholar that enslaves Rita) to be one of the most monstrous characters I've seen in his ToV doujinshis, right up there with the likes of Ragou or Gradana (both canon monsters).  
**__**By now, some of you are starting to see a connection in all of Valssu's ToV doujinshis; girl gets drugged, girl get raped, loves every second of it because of the drug they took, becomes a sex-addicted sex-slave. I wonder if this is how Valssu prefers his dates IRL. Just saying.  
**__**But for now this will be put on hiatus until I finish up Scattered Flowers and Scattered Moon.**_


	2. A Quoi woods Virgin

_**Part 2. A Quoi Woods Virgin**_

_**Note; This chapter, and the remainder of this story takes place over three months after chapter one and covers the same time-frame as Scattered Moon Part 3**_

* * *

_**(Western Mayoccia Plains)**_

_**(Flynn's POV)**_

Sodia Fortescue, lieutenant and second in command of my squad, along with boy-mage, Witcher Milo, has served with us in the Jurgis Brigade for nearly four months now, patrolling the roads in Mayoccia and Peyoccia. She has performed quite admirably, and was serious in her duties as a knight, though I wish she could loosen up a little. But right now, there is one task that she looks like she doesn't want to do, but it happens sooner or later... Especially when it's...her first time.

"_*shiver shiver shiver*_D-D-Do we have to do this, sir Flynn...?" Sodia clutches her arms and shivers.

"I'm afraid so, Sodia." I answered. "I'm afraid there's just no avoiding it."

Sodia continued to shiver. "B-B-But, sir Flynn, I'd r-r-rather do anything else than t-t-this..._*shiver shiver shiver*_... I'd r-r-rather face m-m-monsters... I'd rather face the L-L-Lord of the Plains... I'd... I'd... Rather go back to the Cumore Brigade and have sir Cumore take my virginity... WHAT AM I SAYING...!?" That got some of us laughing _*chuckle*_. "The point is..." Sodia said, looking nervously at that forest in front of us... "I'd r-r-rather do anything else b-but enter... _*shiver*_... The _**QUOI WOODS**_...! _*__s__hiver shiver shiver*_"

"What's so bad about the Quoi Woods, Sodia...?" I asked my shivering second in command.

"Everybody in the Noble Quarter knows that there's a..._*shiver*_... c-c-c-curse that befalls anyone that enters those woods_*shiver*_." Oh, yeah.. that rumor.

"We've gone through these woods before you and Witcher joined us, Sodia, and trust me there's no curse." I tried to reassure Sodia...

...But it seems I wasn't very convincing. Sodia just stood there, a look of fear on her face, arms clutched, knees knocking together, and still shivering. "_*shiver shiver shiver, shiver shiver shiver, shiver shiver shiver, shiver some more, shiver shiver shiver*_" Talk about scared.

"Jee, Sodia, I never figured that you'd be such a chicken." Witcher commented, which let to Sodia bopping him on the head. "_*BOP*_ Owwww!"

"Who are you calling a chicken, you squirt!" Sodia yelled, and then she looked at the rest of us. "Do you guys think I'm a chicken too!?" None of us answered, trust me you don't want to be on her bad side. "Alright fine then, c'mon let's go though those woods. I'll..._*gulp*_" She looks at the woods again...and hides behind me. "...Be right behind you, sir Flynn... Oh, man... what a choice... Enter the woods and be cursed or stay behind and be considered a coward... This just isn't my day..."

"Thanks, Witcher." I congratulated.

"You owe me, sir Flynn." Witcher replied, rubbing his head. Indeed I do...

"Alright everybody, move out!" I ordered, and we entered the woods.

As we walked our horses through the woods, Sodia kept very close behind me, matter of fact she had both of her hands on my shoulders nervously looking left and right. "Are you sure this'll get us through to Peyoccia...?" Sodia nervously asked.

"It should, Sodia." I answered.

"But what if I get turned into a frog or a snake by the forest's c-c-curse...?" Sodia stuttered.

"Then I'll have something to run experiments on, Sodia. Heh heh heh" Witcher answered.

"Not. Funny. Witcher!" Sodia snapped back. "Couldn't we just go back to the hold and wait for that stupid Lord of the Plains to wander off..?"

"It would set us back another two days travel heading back to the hold, Sodia." I explained. "And who knows how long it would take before that giganto decides to wander off. Besides even just staying at the Hold would put us behind schedule, and sir Jurgis won't let us hear the end of it and it's pretty tight as it is."

"Okay, I get it, I don't exactly like sir Jurgis chewing me out either..." Sodia said. "Especially if he decides to hold me responsible for making you late."

"Yeah, Sodia..." Witcher added. "He might decide to send you back to the Cumore Brigade."

"_*shudder*_ I'd rather face the curse...What am I saying...!?" Sodia replied. "Let's get this over with, the sooner we're through here the better..."

As we made our way through the woods, I suddenly heard a rustling sound. "Monsters! Everyone ready your weapons!" I ordered, drawing my sword. The rest of my squad got their swords out, Witcher readied his staff...

...But Sodia... "KYAAAAAH! OH MY GOD! IT'S THE CURSE! MOMMY!"...Crouches down in terror, eyes tightly closed and ears covered, trying to shut out the world.

A group of axe-beaks and mandragoras emerged from the brush and charged right at us. "Take this!" I shouted, using a Sonic Thrust arte to take down a mandragora that was foolish enough to charge at me head on.

"Any one for some roast axe-beak?" Witcher shouted as he cast his arte. "O flickering blaze burn...FIREBALL!" Which shot out several blazing sphere of fire, incinerating the axe-beak, and two mandragoras that were too close. "And bar-b-cued salad on the side."

I sliced another mandragora in two and took an axe-beak's head clean off, the rest of the squad took down several more of those monsters before the remaining monsters decided to call it quits and retreated back into the brush. "Well, that was fun..." I said as I cleaned my sword and sheathed it "Someone round up the horses. Witcher check the squad for any injuries and use any healing artes or gel that you see fit."

"Got it, sir Flynn..." Witcher replied as he checked the squad for injuries, which were pretty light so he just used apple gels, and we were able to gather the horses.

At that point, Sodia uncovered her ears, opened her eyes, and stood up. "Wait a second... It was just... monsters...?" She said as the squad was removing parts from the slain monsters to sell at Fortune's Market and supplement their pay, a couple of them were cleaning the axe-beaks, guess we're having axe-beak for supper.

"It would appear, so, Sodia." I replied. "I think we found out one of the reasons people think this place is cursed; Travelers enter the woods unprepared and end up monster-chow, or in your case, freak-out and freeze-up, thinking that it's the curse, leading to the same result."

"Yeah, sir Flynn..." Sodia said. "... I can easily handle monsters..." True... "But right now, I'm just so embarrassed that I let my superstitious fears get the better of me_*blush*_, I could've been killed... Sorry, sir Flynn." Some of the knights chuckle, making Sodia blush some more.

"Alright, knock it off, you guys." I ordered, then returned my attention to my blushing second. "That's alright, Sodia, you live, you learn."

"Don't worry, sir Flynn. I won't freeze up like that again!" Sodia declared.

"Alright everybody, lets move out!" I ordered, and we resumed our march through the woods, keeping an eye out for more monsters.

As we approached a clearing, we heard something...strange. "Did you guys hear something...?" Sodia nervously asked, looking left and right, trying to find the source of that noise.

"I did, Sodia, this sound is one I haven't heard before..." I drew my sword. "Be on guard, people..."

"There's something familiar about that noise..." Witcher scratched his chin.

Sodia ran up beside me, arms clutched, looking scared and shivering like crazy. "_*shiver shiver shiver shiver shiver*_ M-M-My feet feel c-c-cold all of a sudden..._*shiver shiver shiver*_... Oh no, is this the REAL c-c-c-curse...? _*shiver shiver shiver shiver shiver*_"

"What sort of a curse do you think it is anyway, Sodia...?" I asked, I have a feeling she read about it in one of those books lady Estellise reads.

"The voices of corpses buried beneath the trees creep up and lure you to your DOOOOM!" Sodia answered. "I'm sure that's them! I'm too cute to die! Or get turned into a frog or a snake at least!"

"Oh, brother..." I rolled up my eyes. Just as I thought, Sodia reads the same books that lady Estellise reads.

Then Witcher notices something... "Hey! What's that...?" He points at something gleaming in the bushes. And heads over to examine them.

"S-S-Stay back, Witcher..." Sodia stuttered. "What if that's the c-c-curse...?"

"I highly doubt it, lady Shiversalot..." Witcher replied, examining the bush. "...I knew that sound was familiar. Hey, guys help me clear out this bush." Me and a few of the knights remove the bushes to reveal...an ancient barrier blastia. "Just as I thought, it's a malfunctioning barrier blastia. This guy must date back to the Geraios civilization."

"So that's what we heard...?" Sodia stopped shivering, and looked at the ruined blastia. "_*sigh of relief*_ Oh thank goodness I thought it was the curse..."

"Now that I think about it, this artifact proves that there was a settlement here about a thousand years ago that was wiped out, and then the whole area grew over, creating the Quoi Woods..."

"Where each tree is said to have grown over the corpse of a person who lost their life in that disaster, and their souls condemned, whether saint or sinner, to remain trapped beneath the roots." Sodia explained the story of the curse. "And I already mentioned that it's said that you said that you sometimes hear their voices calling out to new victims to share in their doom. That's why this place scares me so..."

"No doubt it was all in that books that you and lady Estellise reads, Sodia." I said, Sodia nods.

"Only it's not the voices of the dead, Sodia, it was the sound of that malfunctioning blastia that you heard." Witcher explained, examining the blastia. "I guess people entering the area between the disaster and now would hear this, and not realizing what it really is, would, like you Sodia, think it's the voices of the dead. To wit, this is probably how the curse got started."

"And to think that all this time, what I really was scared of in these woods was a broken blastia." Sodia shakes her head. "Now I really feel like a dummy..."

"You and everyone on this continent, Sodia." Witcher replied. "Well, guess that myth been officially debunked, wish I had some tools with me, I'd like to remove that core and deactivate this guy..." Just then the blastia's humming became louder and suddenly went _*KER-FLASH*_... Knocking Witcher and a few of the knights out...

"Oh my god...WITCHER!" Sodia yelled, hands up to her chin in surprise...

_**...(A couple hours later)...**_

… "Sir Flynn, looks like Witcher's waking up..." Sodia said as Witcher, his head resting in Sodia's lap opened his eyes and slowly sat up. "...Hey, You alright, squirt? You gave me quite a jolt back there."

"Ooh...My head feels like a soccer-ball..." Witcher moaned. "...I'll be okay..." He rubs his head. "What happened...?"

"That blastia went off and you got caught in the blast, Witcher." I answered. "Don't you remember...?"

"Oh yeah, That thing released all its aer at me and made my lights go out." Witcher replied.

"Hmmm... I wonder if this another source of that curse myth..." I scratched my chin. "Travelers often get knocked out if they got too close to that damaged blastia rendering them unconscious long enough for monsters to easily kill and eat them..." I theorizes as the unconscious members of my squad came too. "Matter of fact, a group of Monsters tried to do just that but me, Sodia and the few knights that weren't hit drove them off."

"Hmmm...I suppose so, sir Flynn." Witcher said as he turned around and noticed that me, and Sodia were covered in cuts and bruises from fighting the monsters. "Let me heal you two..."

Sodia held up her hand. "Hey, easy, squirt, you only just got up. What if you keel over again...?"

"But your injuries..." Witcher protested.

"Don't worry about then, they're just scratches, Witcher..." Sodia smiled at Witcher. "Just give us some apple gels for now, you need to rest for a few hours. That was a lot of aer for a little kid like you to take."

"I guess you're right, Sodia." Witcher agreed and then passed out the apple gels, one per person. "I'll take it easy for now, but I will need to use my artes on you guys later."

"You should have seen her go, kid." One of the knights said. "Took out two filifolias and a mandragora." Sodia proudly smiled at that feat. "Guess she wanted to make up for freezing up earlier."

"Yeah, wanted to make' em pay for taking advantage of my fears of this place earlier." Sodia stated. "Though this forest still creepy. I want to get moving as soon as possible. Witcher you can ride my horse until we're out of the woods."

"Got it Sodia." Witcher replied.

"Alright everybody, break time's over, off your butts and on your feet!" I ordered. "I want to be out of the woods by sundown, MOVE OUT!" And we made our way through the woods once more, finally exiting onto the Peyoccian plains and setting up camp. Witcher recovered enough to use his healing artes. And those axe-beaks were pretty tasty... even though they STILL won't let me cook...

I guess we can safely say that Sodia's no longer a Quoi Woods virgin (Though she's still a physical one...) "Well, I'm still saving myself for marriage, sir Flynn." Sodia said... Hey...

* * *

_**(Halure, the following day)**_

We entered Halure early that afternoon. I asked the mayor if sir Jurgis had showed up yet, The mayor told me he hasn't shown up. Looks like we're early. We're supposed to meet up with sir Jurgis, the twins and the rest of their squad as they returned from Nor Harbor, escorting master Ioder. "Well, squad, looks like we got time to relax..." I talked to my squad. "...So fall out, and try not to get too carried away...Dismissed." The squad breaks up, some of them heading to Fortune's Market to sell the monster parts that we've been collecting on our patrol.

"Well, sir Flynn, soon as I'm done selling my parts..." A knight in my squad named Bernard Dior said. "I'm gonna visit my folks... I'm sure my dad and sist..."

Sodia's eyes suddenly went big and she started waving her hands left and right, interrupting Bernard. "AAAH! Nonononono, Bernard! I swear if you tell your sister that I'm here..." Sodia threatened before...

"Ca va...?" A voice with a definitive Peyoccian accent suddenly interrupted. Sodia slowly turns around, a fearful look on her face to see who it was, nearly turning white when she saw who it was.

"...M-M-M-Miss C-C-Clara...!" Sodia stuttered.

"Why don't you want my brother to let me know you're here...?" Clara asked, cordially waving her hand and cheerfully winking at us. "I almost think you don't want to see me... I feel so offended... Just for that..." She approaches Sodia, wriggling her fingers

"Oh, no...!" Sodia tries to turn and run but...

..._*KER-GLOMP* _Clara embraces Sodia from behind... "Gotcha...! Huggy huggy_,_ kissy kissy, squishy squishy, Sodia!"

"WHAAAH! MOMMY! HELP ME, SIR FLYNN!" Sodia yelled, waving her arms up and down, as Clara kissed her on both cheeks "HAHII!", playfully groped her breasts. "NHAAAH! HWAAH! HWAAH! QUIT IT!" and finally letting her go. "_*Blush*_ Hah hah hah... I knew it, the Quoi Woods has cursed me to be kissed and groped by queers...hah hah hah...This just isn't my day..." Sodia gasps for breath.

"_*giggle*_, I missed you too, Sodia!" Clara giggled. Then she notices us. "Oh, Hello, sir Flynn, welcome back, Bernard."

"Nice to see you too, sis." Bernard smiled. "You know Julia's gonna get jealous if you keep clowning around with lieutenant Fortescue like that."

"It's not like I'm touching her in...that place, Bernard." Clara said.

"And I'd much rather you'd not, Clara." Sodia warned, covering her chest. "Jeez why are you always so grabby...?"

"I'm a fashionista, Sodia..." Clara explained. "I have to touch people to get their measurements. And you know I was just clowning around with you."

"I know, but still..._*blush*_" Sodia Blushed. "Not so rough next time, okay..."

"Can't make any promises, my squeezable Sodia." Clara replied. "Wait a second...did you mention the Quoi Woods earlier...?"

"I did, Clara..." Sodia replied. "We took a shortcut through 'em."

Clara steps back, hands up to her face. "Then that means... Oh no...! You're all cursed...! Double oh no... I touched a cursed person! Stay back! The curse could jump from person to person...! Oh no...! What if I already got from touching Sodia...!?" She starts to cower from Sodia.

Sodia slyly smiles at Clara... Uh oh...I've seen that smile before... Her playful side's coming out. "Is that soooo...? Maybe I am cursed and the only way to get rid of it is to pass it on to a member of the same sex via kissing and embracing... Better make sure..." Clara trembles as Sodia wriggles her fingers, and Clara turns to run away. "Come here, you...!" She chases Clara down, grabbing her from behind. _*KER-GLOMP* _"Gotcha!"

"HWAAAH! Bernard! HELP MEEE! I'm gonna get CURSED!" Clara yelled for help as she, this time wriggles and squirms in (of all people) Sodia's embrace.

Sodia positions her face next to Clara's and..."Kissy kissy..._*smooch smooch*_"... Kisses her cheeks.

"Oh no! CURSED KISSES! EWW! EWW!" Clara yelped.

Sodia then... "Squishy squishy...!_*grope grope grope*_" Gropes Clara's breasts... Is my nose bleeding...?

"HWAAAH! AAAH! AAAIIIEEE!" Clara yelled, tears squirting from her eyes, her arms flapping up and down. "Please stop! PWEEEAAASSSEEE!" Anyone got a tissue...? It's for my nose. "Nhoo! Please...!" Clara begged... "Stop! Please! No more! No more! I'll be cursed I'LL BE CURSED! HEEELLLPPP!"

The Sodia lets her go. "There, all done. Now we're even... and now you're cursed, Clara! MWA HA HA HA HA HA!" Ease up on the hammyness, Sodia. Most of the time, Sodia is usually uptight and by the book, but at times she can prove that she not above it all and likes having a little fun when the opportunity presents itself. "Well that was fun, sir Flynn." She smiles at me. See what I mean...?

"Hah...Hah...Hah...Oh no! How could this be...?... Hah...Hah... I'm cursed aren't I...?... Hah...Hah... It can't be... _*sniffle*_" Clara gasped as she fell on her knees.

"Didn't I say you were, Clara...?" Sodia replied. "Or you would be if the curse was real."

"Wait what!?" Clara looked confused.

"FYI, It turns out that the curse was just a bunch of monsters and a busted-up blastia, Clara." Sodia explained. "And the part about the curse being passed from person to person...? I made that up_*giggle*_." Sodia giggled, Clara's jaw hit the ground in shock. "You should have seen the look on your face..._*giggle*_...Priceless and so worth it pretending to be...eww... cursed." Sodia laughed, slapping her knee.

"You tricked me, Sodia." Clara realized.

"You got it, Clara..." Sodia smiled and winked.

"You're mean, Sodia." Clara complained. "_*sigh*_But well played. I never felt this scared since... I don't know... It's either When I got selected to be reaped or when those monster rights activists tried to drench me in blood and beat me half to death."

"In both cases as I recall, you were saved by Julia." I said. "But I think with the P.E.T.M. Yuri helped as well."

"That's true, Flynn." Clara get back up on her feet, and dusts off her skirt. "So what brings you here...?"

"We're here to meet up with Master Ioder when he comes back from Nor harbor." I answered.

"Oh, you're meeting prince Ioder." Clara smiled pressing her hands together in anticipation. "I just love making new outfits for him, even though he's a guy. But not as much fun as..."

"Let me guess..." I interrupted. "Making outfits for lady Estellise."

"Correctamundo, Flynn... And Julia, Sodia, the twins and those cute Yurzoreans, but especially Julia..._*starry eyed sigh*_! By the way, how is lady Estellise...?" Clara asked.

"I'm not sure, but in my last few visits with her..." I starter to answer. "She seems to be a bit...off."

"Oh...? How so...?" Clara placed her hand on her chin.

So I explained. "It seems to have started on her eighteenth birthday, when lord Ragou dropped in for a visit. And after that she's been rather quiet and acting...submissive. And you know that hair-clip..."

"Oh, yeah, the hart-shaped one I designed to go with her blue gown last year." Clara recalled. "It was soo lovely...!"

"She stopped wearing it and is now wearing a more plain yellow one with a ruby in the center."

"Really, Flynn...? How cheap."

"And that not the only thing that...cheap..." I said. "She's even using cheap perfume. She just doesn't smell like bubblegum anymore... And she's lost all interest in reading, horseback riding and fencing. I'm not sure what's going with lady Estellise, but I'm starting to worry."

"Me too, sir Flynn..." Sodia interjected. "Before her birthday, she tried to make friends with me quite a few times, but afterward, she's been avoiding me instead of me trying to avoid her. I'd never thought I'd actually miss her attempts, heck, even the maids are worried, They tell me that she's become...cold towards them and barely talks to them."

"I see..." Clara scratches her chin. "This is most...troubling. This could have something with that disgusting old fart, Ragou. He tried to make a few moves on me... _*shudder*_... How absolutely revolting."

"You think lord Ragou's behind this...?" I asked and Clara nods. "It could be... Hmmmmm..." I scratch my chin and pondered on this...

Just then, Sodia notices something. "Huh...? Dust cloud on the horizon, sir Flynn, west by north west." she said.

I take out a pair of binoculars and look at it." You're right, Sodia It looks like a carriage escorted by knights on horseback... Looks like master Ioder's... They should be here in half an hour. I'm going to the inn to make rooming arrangements for them."

Yes, sir Flynn!" Sodia saluted. "You need any help...?"

"It should be fine, Sodia." I replied. "Take a break for now. Dismissed."

"Yes, sir Flynn!" Sodia then turns to the Dior siblings. "Well Bernard, Clara, let's head over to the pub, Clara, to show there's no hard feelings for the prank I pulled, I'll buy you the first drink."

"Merci beaucoup, Sodia." Clara replied in Peyoccian. "Later on, how about you come by our family design studio. We have some designs that you might like, don't forget to invite the twins and that cute prince."

"Uh, huh..." Sodia replied. "I'm sure they're looking forward to seeing you."

"Me too..._*giggle*_..." Clara wriggles her fingers.

"Ho, boy..." Sodia_*face palms*_.

_**(The Denebola inn, later that evening)**_

"Good evening, master Ioder..." I greeted the prince as he entered along with sir Jurgis and the twins. "I hope you'll find the accommodations to your liking."

"And good evening to you too, Flynn..." Master Ioder greeted back. "I'm sure the accommodations you provided will be better than Ragou's... Come to think of it, any place would be better than what lord Ragou provided us, right, Jurgis...?" Sir Jurgis nods in agreement.

"That bad, captain Jurgis?" I asked.

"That wet, Flynn..." Sir Jurgis replied. "It was constantly raining. Look at my armor, it's gonna take me days to remove the rust. And it was every bit as bad as we feared. They should have never let Ragou become magistrate three years ago."

"No kidding, captain." Chastel said. "The people there are still being badly taxed, those that could afford to get out of Muluroccia had long since left."

"And I hate to admit..." Hisca added. "...But that bastard Gradana's right. That place has become, pardon my Peyoccian, your highness, a real shit-hole."

"Personally I think calling Nor Harbor a real... poop-hole... doesn't even describe how bad it's gotten." Master Ioder said. "Ragou's even going as far as to keep ships from bringing supplies by firing on them with Hoplon Blastias. First thing I do if I become emperor; have lord Ragou fired and get that place cleaned up and made useful again."

"And I doubt Heliord's much of an improvement for the former citizens of Shizontonia either." Chastel said. "It seems like they're making the refugees work really hard on something there...Something BIG."

"Although We heard that some of the residents are heading back to Shizontonia, now that they finally got the barrier blastia working again." Hisca added. "But so far it's only those that can afford to return there, and that's not very many people." She shakes her head.

"Well any way, let's order some supper." Master Ioder suggested. "And after that, I understand that the Diors have some designs that they want me...and the twins to look at and get our measurements updated."

"Do we have too...?" The twins_*gulped*_. Guess they're not too crazy about Clara's style of measuring, even though she avoids...that place... unless you invite her to.

* * *

_**(End Part 2)**_

_**Author's Notes:**_

_**Thought I'd have a little fun with Sodia. Some of her reactions in the Quoi woods are based on the same reactions that Estellise had in the game. Also, I wanted to show that although she's always strict and tense, there are times when she's not so above it all and like to have fun too.**_

_**I also wanted to include a few references to Scattered Moon, in particular their concerns about Estellise's well being, but they don't know what's really going yet. There might be a few references in later chapters.**_

_**Next chapter, we'll be visiting the city of scholars, Aspio, when they'll add some new scholars to their ranks, and give them their first assignments.**_


	3. The Maid is a Scholar

_**Part 3. The Maid is a Scholar**_

* * *

_**(Aspio)**_

_**(Flynn's POV)**_

After spending a night in Halure, we headed up north to the city of scholars, Aspio. Master Ioder was to attend the induction ceremony for the new scholars this year. Accompanying us was Clara, who wanted to go to Aspio to see Julia who just finished her scholarship exams that she's been taking for the last few months, and was waiting on pins and needles for the results.

"I just hope that she doesn't hug me, sir Flynn." Sodia commented as we went to meet Julia outside the Imperial Blastia Research Laboratory. "Getting hugged by one queer(looking at Clara) is more than enough for me." Well Sodia found out about their sexuality when she accidentally walked in on them making out a few months back.

"Admit it, Sodia, You enjoyed it, didn't you...?" Clara smiled.

"Maybe you did, Clara..." Sodia replied. "I know you enjoyed yourself when you were taking our measurements."

"_*giggle*_ I'd be lying if I said I wasn't, Sodia." Clara giggled. "You have such nice soft perfect skin, and you were decently developed..._*sigh*_... If only you were queer..."

"Thanks...I guess..." Sodia replied. "Though I'd prefer that we'd just be friends, just good friends, nothing more. Even though your sexual orientation makes me a bit nervous." She turns to master Ioder. "Well, master Ioder, any designs that caught your eye...?"

"A few, miss Sodia." Master Ioder replied. "And I've already made my purchases. How about you...?"

"There were a couple, master Ioder..." Sodia replied. "There were a couple of nice looking off-the rack blouses and skirts and a pair of cute looking sandals, something to wear next time I'm down in Nordopolica..."

"I'd recommend the white blouse and the light blue skirt, Sodia..." Clara suggested. "They'll go quite perfectly with the sandals."

"Uh, huh..." Sodia replied. I'll bet Sodia would look rather pretty in that ensemble. "Ah, there's Julia...!" We finally met up with Julia, who was wearing her librarian clothes.

"Hello, Julia" I called out.

"Oh, heya, Flynn, Sodia, Witcher..." Julia replied. "How was your patrol...Oh, Greetings master Ioder." She bowed when she noticed master Ioder.

"Oh, not much, Julia..." I replied. "Had to take a shortcut through the Quoi Woods..."

"Oh my..." Julia held her hand up to mouth. "You guys didn't get cursed did you...?"

"No, turns out all it was was just a bunch of monsters and a damaged blastia..." Witcher answered.

"Doesn't change the fact that those woods are still creepy." Sodia added.

"I suppose so, Sodia, probably infested with _*shudder*_ revolting slimy, scary worms_*shudder again*_ for all I know." Julia said.

"Ca va, Julia?" Clara greeted.

"You're here too, Clara...?" Julia replied. "Oh, yeah, Halure's a hop skip and a jump from here. I'm doing fine. It's simply good to see you again."

"Same here..." Master Ioder said. "I noticed that you's got an envelope in your hands."

"Yes, master Ioder, it's my... exam results." Julia looks nervously at her unopened envelope.

"Aren't you gonna open it, Julia...?" I asked.

"I don't know if I should, Flynn..." Julia replied. "I'm just so nervous right now, I haven't felt this nervous since I stood on that platform looking at the cornucopia nearly six years ago, waiting for the clock to run down... What if it said I failed... Again?"

"Well you can always try again next year, Julia." I suggested.

"Easy for you to say, Flynn..." Julia replied. "First time it took me nearly a year putting aside money from my work as both castle maid and librarian to be able to afford the entrance fees, and I only got a B(73%). And last year I had to give up on entering because I was helping master Ioder earn his own scholarship. And before you say anything else, A DuBois simply does not accept charity in this quest, not from either family nor my employers(looking at master Ioder). Not to mention you have to be at least from an upper-class family... Something that you aren't yet, Flynn."

"I see..." I replied. "But we won't think any less of you if you didn't make it, Julia." Everyone else nods.

"Besides, I can always raise your paycheck so you can more easily afford to try again next year." Master Ioder added. "Just don't think of it as charity."

"Thanks, master Ioder..." Julia smiled. "Well...might as well get this over with... H...Here goes nothing..._*gulp*_..." She nervously opens up her envelope and reads her results... She starts to sob... tears coming out of her eyes...

"Oh, Julia..." Sodia said. "We're so sorry that you didn't..."

"I..._*sob*_... I..._*sob*_..." Julia sobbed before she showed us her results(score:93%). "... I... I GOT AN A-PLUS!" It turns out that she was crying tears of joy. "I finally did it! I'm a scholar, you guys! A SCHOLAR! WAAAAAAH! I'M JUST SO HAPPY RIGHT NOW!" The tears were coming out fountain style. She immediately hugs master Ioder...

… "Woah! Julia! What are you doing!?" Master Ioder yelps in surprise as Julia spins him around and around til he got really dizzy... "WoAh...NoW tHaT's SoMeThInG yOu DoN't ExPeRieNcE eVeRy DaY..." He said as he staggered from the dizziness...

...Then she looked at Witcher and then..._*KER-GLOMP*_... Hugged him. "WAAAAAH! FLYNN HAAALLLP! GET HER OFFA ME! I CAN'T BREATHE!" He manages to wriggle free before he got dizzy and hid behind me. "_*shiver shiver shiver*_ Flynn, I was so scared..._*shiver shiver shiver*_... I thought I was gonna die..._*shiver some more*_... Let's go home already..."

"Sorry, Witcher, got simply carried away there." Julia apologized.

"Better you than me, squirt..." Sodia said before the still overjoyed Julia..._*KER-GLOMP*_... Hugged her and spun her around... "OH, NOOOO! NOT AGAAAIIINNN! WAAAAAAH!" Until she got really dizzy... "OoOoOoH...EvErYtHiNg'S sTiLl SpInNiNg..." And staggered around before collapsing in my arms. "I think I'm still cursed, sir Flynn..."

"I'm jealous." Clara said. "I wanted to be hugged and spun around..."

"SoRrY, ClArA..." The still dizzy Julia replied. "I'm StIlL a BiT dIzZy FrOm SpInNiNg ArOuNd WiTh MaStEr IoDeR, WiTcHeR aNd SoDiA..." She shakes her head to shake off the dizziness...

"Well that was rather unusual..." Master Ioder said after he recovers from his own dizziness. "I'd never thought that you'd hug me and Witcher."

"Me neither, master Ioder." Julia replied. "Happiness can make you do some strange things... Oh yeah, almost forgot... Clara!" Then she hugs Clara(and vice-versa) and spin around with each other.

"WHEEEEEEEEEE!" Clara squealed with joy as she and Julia spun around and around until they both became perfectly dizzy... "Oh WoW, JuLiA, tHiS iS aLmOsT aS gOoD aS...(looking at us)... wElL, yOu KnoW WhAt I mEaN..."

So does Sodia... "Oh, EWW! You're talking about naked lesbian sex, aren't you...?" The two bespectacled queers smile and nod.

"But of course, Sodia." Clara smiled. She places her gloved hand on Julia's face and looks deeply into her eyes "I would love to help you celebrate your scholarship properly, my beautiful scholar..." She cooed.

Julia also dainty places her hand on Clara's face and looks deeply into her eyes "As would I, my cute fashionista, and it would be so deep, so good and so nuu..." Julia cooed back before looking at Sodia, whose eyes were bugging out. "But I think we should lay off on the mushy stuff before Sodia freaks out..."

"Yeah, I suppose." Clara agreed.

"Well then, I suppose we should head over to the local pub and have a few drinks to celebrate." I suggested.

"That's a wonderful idea, Flynn..." Julia smiled. "First round's on me."

"You got it, Julia." I replied.

"At this time of day, Flynn...?" Master Ioder asked.

"Well, as the saying goes, master Ioder, 'It's five o'clock somewhere'."

"Hmm...Why not..." Master Ioder agreed. "Let's go..." And we headed over to the pub...

* * *

_**(The Local Pub)**_

"So that awful Ragou won't listen to reason and allow aid to reach the storm-soaked town of Nor Harbor, and on top of taxing those poor people..." Julia said as she took a sip of her beer.

"I'm afraid so, Julia..." Master Ioder replied as he held his glass of cherry wine. "He insists that Capua Nor is his to do as he pleases." He shakes his head. "Is this what our nobility, and our council has become...?"

"Sometimes I wonder, Master Ioder." I answered.

"I'll tell you, master Ioder, lord Ragou Stufato is simply the most awful, revolting, slimy, disgusting person to ever walk the face of Terca Lumereis. And don't get me started on how his penis felt _*shudder*_...absolutely revolting _*shudder some more*_..." Um...yeah... Julia had sex with lord Ragou back when she was Gradana's sex-slave.

"EWW! Don't remind us, Julia!" The twins, who joined us at the pub earlier, said. "That's one memory from our...time in the Royal guard that we'd rather forget..." Chastel said.

"...Along with the rest of that...eww... disgusting week..." Hisca added. "Especially when we did all those...stunts for that fat Yurzorean. That guy was just... vile...eww." Tell me about it.

"I'll... take your word for it, Julia, Aiheaps." Master Ioder said.

"Me too..." Clara added. "Although I never had sex with that person(and I hope I never will) I could tell he was completely revolting, all covered in splotches and that hideous mole next to his nose...EWW!... Let's change the subject before we lose our lunches."

"Good Idea, Clara!" I said. "From the way you reacted at your exam results, Julia, The must the best day of your life, Becoming a certified scholar."

"Oh, You're a scholar, Julia...?" Chastel said. "Congratulations, you must be so happy." She shakes Julia's hand.

"Happy enough to hug both master Ioder and Witcher." Julia replied. That got the twins chuckling. "And then Sodia and Clara." Sodia shakes her head, Clara smiles.

"I can understand you hugging Witcher, Julia..." Hisca said. "That little guy's just sooo cute...!" Witcher nervously hides behind me(He's having a sarsaparilla due to his age).

"Relax, Witcher, they're not gonna hug you again." I reassured.

"I hope not, Flynn." Witcher replied. "Once today was more than was enough, thank you very much." Witcher returned to his seat.

"Well, Flynn." Julia looked at me. "This is my second best day of my life, a very close second, mind you."

"Oh? Then what was your best day then, Julia?" I asked.

Julia looks at the Aiheaps and answers. "Why simply the day I..." She raised her mug the twins do the same, clanging them together. "KICKED THAT IDIOT GRADANA IN THE NUTS!"

"I'll drink to that." I said, raising my mug to theirs.

"You kicked Gradana in the privates, Julia...?" Sodia said. "Wish I could've been there to see it."

* * *

_**(A couple days later, following the induction ceremony)**_

The Dean of the Imperial Blastia Research Laboratory, Patrick MacGilliam gave his congratulatory speech to the ten newest scholars, including Julia. This was followed by another speech by master Ioder, who gave them all their diplomas, and their first internship assignments.

"Well, congratulations on your Scholarship, Julia DuBois..." Master Ioder said as he handed Julia her diploma. "I trust you'll serve the education of both myself, the princess and the Empire with distinction, humility and honor."

"I will, your excellency..." Julia bowed as she humbly accepted her scroll. "I humbly accept this diploma, and my first task with both the dignity and humility that's expected of a scholar of Aspio."

"I'm sure I could do something with those robes..." Clara said to herself, looking at her girlfriend wearing the traditional Aspionian scholar robes. "But why mess with simplicity."

"_*sniffle*_ Just watching the ceremony brings a tear to my eye." Witcher said, tears of joy welling up in his eyes. "Reminds me of my own ceremony last year_*sniffle*_. Just...got some dust in my eye, that's all..." Uh huh...

"Isn't that the same ceremony that master Ioder got his diploma at...?" Sodia asked.

"That's right, Sodia." I answered. "Julia helped master Ioder study for nearly a year, Unlike previous emperors, including his father, gods rest his soul, he wanted to earn his diploma rather than have it given to him. He got a A minus(82%) as I recall, just enough to qualify."

"While I got an A plus(95%), like Julia, happiest day of my life." Witcher stated. "But even that doesn't compare to another prodigy, Rita Mordio, Heard she got an S at age eleven. That's 100%, nearly impossible to obtain."

"I remember her." Chastel said. "Even at that age, she was powerful enough to blow out a wall, and would've taken out me and sir Niren if I hadn't got my force field up in time."

Just then Julia walked over to us. "So Julia, what's your intern assignment gonna be?" I asked.

"Well, according to this, I'm to spend a one month tour in Shizontonia helping with the restoration and re-cataloging of the public library in Shizontonia."

"Good thing you have some experience with libraries, Julia." I said.

"Oh, yeah, I almost forgot to mention, Flynn..." Witcher interrupted. "I've been asked to help out at the Imperial Blastia Research Laboratory due to the fact that the aforementioned Rita has refused to answer their summons." He shakes his head. "_*sigh*_ Looks like I won't be available for a month or so."

"Don't worry, squirt." Sodia said. "I have been trained in healing artes as well and I can also perform light based magic. Hopefully I can take up the slack."

"It's too bad you have to go, Witcher..." I said. Well Witcher wasn't really officially part of the knights to begin with, and I have been his guardian during his tour with the Jurgis Brigade. "But we hope to see you again."

"Same here, Flynn, just nobody hug me when I get back, especially the twins and Lady Estellise, my ribs are still hurting from her embrace..." _*chuckle*_ I know the feeling. "Well see you guys later..." and then he leaves.

"Well off he goes..." Julia said. "Well that was simply a marvelous celebration."

"That's true, Julia..." Clara said. "But I know of an EVEN better way to celebrate your scholarship. I've even rented a private room for just the two of us. Seeing as the hotel we're staying at doesn't allow the kind of...celebration I have in mind."

"Lead the way, Clara." Julia smiled. "Flynn, Sodia, if you'll excuse us, we're gonna have a private celebration if you don't mind."

"Sure, knock yourselves up... uh I mean out." I replied. The two ladies giggle and head off to... celebrate... Master Ioder joined us and we headed over to our hotel...

_**(A couple hours later)**_

...Julia and Clara joined us later after they had their...private celebration. "Welcome back, Julia, Clara." I greeted them as they entered. "I trust you two...enjoyed yourselves."

"We most certainly did, Flynn..." Julia smiled as they sat down at our table. "...What can I say...? It simply was better than chocolate...!"

"I agree, Julia..." Clara replied. "You were soo good...!"

"So were you, Clara...!" Julia smiled back.

"Oh, Eww, You two had lesbian sex didn't you...?" Sodia said, and the two queers nodded. "Eww! I knew it! I guess you two were deep-kissing, swirling your tongues around each other..." The two queers smile and nodded. "And you two were groping each others breasts..." The two queers smile and nodded. "And you probably wriggled your fingers around in each others...um... (in a low voice) Vaginal and anal opening..." The two queers REALLY smile and nod. "EWW! And you no doubt licked each other on the backs of your necks..." Smile and nod. "Your nipples..." Smile and nod. "And your vaginal and anal openings... Oh grossy grossy icky icky! Just the thought of it sends chills down my spine."

"Hey, whoa whoa whoa there, Sodia..." Julia interrupted. "I should probably tell you, we don't do blow-jobs."

"Wait, what...?" Sodia looks...surprised. "You two don't do...Eww...cunnilingus(vaginal licking) or...double eww... anilingus(Anal licking)... EWW... Just saying those words make me wanna wash my mouth with a bottle of mouthwash..."

"Yeah, we tried that once a few years ago when we were...exploring our own sexuality..." Clara said. "And let's just say, we didn't like either the taste...YUCK... or the feel..._*SHUDDER*_"

"No kidding, Clara, it took a lot of mouthwash to get rid of the former's taste, and the latter felt really gross _*SHUDDER*_. So not worth the arousal...So we don't do those awful, revolting blow-jobs." Julia added. What can I say...Even queers have standards. "You'd have to be on drugs to want to do that(Something I'd much rather forget...UGH!)."

"Okay...so you two don't blow-job..." Sodia said, and the two queers shudder. "But that still leaves..._*shudder*_ tribadism (rubbing vaginal openings together)...?"

"Yep, Sodia..." Julia answered. "It even feels better when you're properly...aroused... when they're nice and slippery. As well as rubbing our nice, white, soft, silky smooth legs together... mmmn..."

"And tickly if you're still wearing your skirt and petticoat_*giggle*_." Clara added.

"You're still fully clothed when you two...do it...?" Sodia asked.

"That's right, Sodia..." Julia answered. "As the saying goes... 'We don't to have to take our clothes off to have a good time.' Other than our shoes, panties, and unbutton our blouses enough to access our breasts. Though sometimes we do it naked. If I remember correctly we were doing it clothed when you walked in on us."

"Okay then, that's all I need to know...Aheh heh heh heh..." Sodia said. "Way more than I need to know actually... heh heh heh... my brain needs a shower... AH! Sir Flynn...your nose... hold still...lemme get a tissue for that..." Sorry, all that lesbian sex talk and thinking about Julia and Clara making out got my nose bleeding...again... What do you expect... I'm a perfectly normal twenty-one year old heterosexual male. It happens.

* * *

_**(The following morning)**_

As we had breakfast, we were met by sir Jurgis and master Ioder. "Good morning, sir Jurgis, master Ioder." I greeted.

"Morning, lieutenant Flynn." Sir Jurgis replied. "Got new orders for your squad; they will accompany my squad back to Deidon Hold via Halure. Then your squad is to escort the new scholars to Shizontonia and conduct patrols there for the next few weeks, while my squad will escort master Ioder back to Zaphais."

"Understood, sir Jurgis." I saluted.

"Oh yeah, I should mention that in a few weeks, I'll be coming to Shizontonia to check on the status of the recently repaired blastia." Master Ioder added.

"As you wish, master Ioder." I replied.

"I hope you don't mind if I come with as far as Halure, captain Jurgis..." Clara asked. "It's not exactly safe to travel by oneself what with all those nasty monsters running about."

"Bring 'em on..." Julia said, twirling her favorite rondel daggers. "I most certainly could use the combat practice(and sell their parts for extra cash)." She has traveled up and down those roads on library business and is a seasoned monster fighter, sometimes working alongside a Krytian spear-for-hire.

"As you wish, miss Dior." Sir Jurgis said. "Seeing as we're headed to Halure anyway."

"Merci, captain." Clara smiled.

"You're welcome, miss Dior" Sir Jurgis replied. He turns to me... "Have your squad ready, Flynn, Sodia we move out in one hour."

"Yes, sir!" Me and Sodia saluted... One hour later, we got the squad together, minus Witcher, and left Aspio for Halure and then on to Deidon Hold and to our next assignment in Shizontonia. It's been three years since I was last there, I wonder how it looks...

* * *

_**(End Part 3)**_

_**Author's Notes:**_

_**Scholar grades (lowest to highest): F= 0-49%, D= 50-54%, C-=55-59%, C=60-64%, B-=65-69%, B=70-74%, B+= 75-79%, A-=80-84%, A= 85-89%, A+= 90-95%, S=95-100%. You must be at least A- grade to be considered a scholar.**_

_**Since Witcher and Rita don't meet until Nor Harbor, I had to write him out for the time being, so he won't be appearing for the rest of this fan-fic. Sorry, Witcher fans.**_

_**So, yeah... Julia and Clara...did it. And they did all those things Sodia thought they did... except for the blow-jobbing of course. This chapter will be Clara's last appearance for this fan-fic.**_

_**Next chapter, we pay a visit to sunny Shizontonia.**_


	4. A Librarian and a Blastia

_**Part 4. A Librarian and a Blastia**_

* * *

_**(Shizontonia)**_

_**(Flynn's POV)**_

"So this is Shizontonia, sir Flynn...?" Sodia asked as we approached the bridge leading into town. "I can't believe we have to patrol this run-down dump." I hate to agree with her but, in the three years since the barrier blastia konked out, it's often been occupied by criminal guilds and packs of monsters. And as a result, many of the buildings still look rather...scummy, even though the monsters and most of the criminals were driven out when the barrier blastia was fixed a few months ago and restoration is now underway to make the town habitable again.

"Hopefully it'll look better in a few months, Sodia..." I replied. "This town was pretty a few years ago when I was here last. Hopefully it'll be again."

"I just hope that the library is in better shape than most of these buildings, Flynn." Julia said. "Though I highly doubt it after the mess you and Yuri made of it a few years ago when you tried to arrest Garista Loudur."

"Yeah, I remember, Julia..." I replied. "He resisted and tried to kill us with his experimental bodhi blastia, forcing us to kill him instead." It was Yuri's last official duty as a knight before he quit.

As we crossed the bridge and entered the town, we were met by a familiar... and still very big person. "Welcome back to Shizontonia, Flynn..." Merzhom Keider greeted. "It's just like how we left it. Well other than the fact it could use a fresh coat of paint." (looking at all the run-down and damaged buildings)Just a fresh coat of paint...?

"My word..." Julia gasped hands up to her mouth in surprise. "He's a rather BIG person, And here I thought Elvin was huge." She was astounded at Merzhom's size...

...And so was Sodia. "Me too Julia, That guy looks like he could beat up egg bears... barehanded!" Wouldn't surprise me if he does.

"Nice to see you too, Merzhom." I greeted. "I'd never thought I see you back here as well."

"When Don Whitehorse heard that the empire was fixing the blastia, he sent me and my guild over to help clean up this one-horse town." Merzhom explained. "It was quite a bit of work, protecting the repair crews from the monsters and brigands that decided to make this place their home. But as you can see, the barrier's finally back up, the monsters are run outta town. We're back and here to stay." He looks at Julia and Sodia. "By the way, Flynn, who are your two girlfriends...?"

"This is my second in command of my squad, lieutenant Sodia Fortescue." I introduced Sodia. "And this is, Julia DuBois, castle maid, librarian, and royal scholar." I introduced Julia.

"Name's Merzhom Keider, Head of Egg-bear's Paw, representing the Union here in Shizontonia." Merzhom greeted. "Course, we're not the only guild here, the Hunting Blades and Fortune's market are here as well... Speaking of which..." We noticed Mary Kaufman of Fortune's Market and Clint along with Tison and Nan and a young boy of the Hunting Blades approach. "We have Fortune's Market her to re-open the trade route from Deidon Hold. And the Hunting Blades are here to take care of any monsters and brigands that threaten said trade route."

"Heya, Clint, how fares the hunt...?" Julia greeted. She's run across the hunting blades. And two years ago, she was Nan's mentor.

"I'd never thought I'd see you out here, DuBois." Clint replied. "Anyway, things are starting to quiet down."

"Greetings, fellow victor and mentor." Nan greeted Julia. Like Julia, she participated in that barbaric game that the gods force us to participate in, winning it two years ago at the young age of twelve. Currently Nan's at the age of fourteen. "May the odds be ever in your favor."

"Um...yeah, Nan..." Julia replied, she's not overly fond of those games. Too many bad memories of her own ordeal. Not to mention seeing seeing three tributes she was mentoring perish, Nan was her only...success. "I've told you before, just call me Julia, and I already told you that I simply don't care for that quote. For in truth, the odds are NEVER in your favor."

"Gee, you're still such a downer, Julia." Nan replied. "You oughta feel honored to be a victor! As well as a mentor."

"Well, I still don't feel too honored, Nan...Just...lucky." Julia replied. "I'm sorry, but that's how I feel."

Before Nan could say anything else, the boy interrupts. "Wait, Nan. If that how she feels, then there's nothing we could say or do to change her opinion." The boy said, and then he turns to Julia. "Oh yeah, my name's Carol Capel, pleased to meet you." Carol holds out his hand.

"Likewise, mr. Capel..." Julia shakes his hand. "My, such manners for a Hunting Blade. And a rather cute looking one at that."

"Well I only just joined a few weeks ago." Carol replied. "So right now, I'm trying to prove myself that I'm as brave as Nan."

"Even though he's not doing a good job of it." Nan said, slapping Carol on the back of his head. "I'm surprised he's even still alive."

"Alright, enough chit-chat!" Clint ordered. "We've got work to do. Hunting Blades MOVE OUT!" And the Hunting Blades cross the bridge and disappear into the surrounding woods.

"Cheery bunch..." Mary said. Then looks at us. "So I see that the Jurgis Brigade has sent us a squad to protect the trade route... and a group of scholars. Long time, no see, Flynn."

"Same here, miss Kaufman." I replied. "Even though the guilds aren't too crazy about our presence, Shizontonia is still considered a town of the Empire."

"Well as long as we don't get in each others business, everything should go smoothly and without any trouble, Flynn." Miss Kaufman said. "So anyway, what's up with the scholars."

"Some of them are going to be helping out on the blastia, while others, like Julia here will be helping out with the public library."

"Good luck with that." Merzhom said. "A lot of those books there are either missing or destroyed, no doubt those brigands we ran out either used 'em for starting fires or as toilet paper." Several of the new scholars moaned...

… Including Julia. "Oh, good grief." Julia face-palmed. "My first job as a scholar and I have find out which books I have to replace and make the appropriate orders and get them delivered." She shakes her head. "Well, we better get started first thing tomorrow. Miss Kaufman. We'll need to borrow some of your guild members, I'll need to put a wish list of lost books together."

"Not a problem, miss DuBois." Miss Kaufman replied. "I'll send them over tomorrow."

"So who's the head scholar here...?" I asked. "I'll need to report to him that his new recruits are here."

"That would be Fidi Vanité, Flynn..." Merzhom answered. "I'd be careful around him, I swear that guy's got a bug up his arse or something."

"Noted." I said and Merzhom led us to where Fidi was currently working.

* * *

_**(The barrier blastia controls)**_

_**(Julia's POV)**_

"Hey! What the fuck are you doing!?" We heard Fidi shout as we approached. "You were supposed to follow my formula to the exact letter, you retard!" Merzhom wasn't kidding about him having a bug up his rump. This is simply going to be so much fun working with him...NOT! "Don't you dare change it."

"But, Fidi..." The scholar Fidi was chewing out objected. "If we do it your way, we could risk overloading the blastia."

"Are you telling me that I can't program a fucking Strihm formula?" Fidi snarled back, smacking the hapless scholar across the face. "ARGH! I'm surrounded by IDIOTS!"

"It'll be a LOT easier if Rita's here instead of taking care of your own projects." Another scholar said. "Why are you holding her back?"

Fidi gets right into that guy's face. "We don't need that little smart-Alec here. We can easily do this ourselves... Now get back to work, the whole useless lot of you!" Fidi barked. Then he notices us. "What the hell are you doing here Merzhom? We have this under control."

"Well I can see that you're in a good mood today, Fidi." Merzhom replied. "The new scholars for the Library are here..." He presents us. "Along with a squad of knights from the Jurgis Brigade." He shows them Flynn and his knights.

"I'm lieutenant Flynn Scifo..." Flynn introduces himself. "And this is my second in command, lieutenant Sodia Fortescue."

"Fidi Vanité, pleased to meet you." Fidi introduces back. "I'm kinda the foreman for these useless idiots who obviously don't know how to use a pen, much less tune a blastia."

"Yeah, I could certainly tell it's sounding a bit rough." I commented. "Could I have a look...?"

"Hey, that's none of your damn business, newbie!" Fidi snapped at me. "Besides, what makes a woman like you think she can tune a barrier blastia better than me...?"

Oh It. Is. ON! "Well then let's find out. Stand aside!" I ordered, making my way to the control panel. I press a couple of buttons and bring up the screen. "Okay then, let's see what the problem is." I open up a book on blastia formulas and flip over to the page on Strihm formulas. Then I start by comparing what's on the screen to what the book says.

"Hey! Stay away from that, newbie!" Fidi rudely grabs me by the shoulder and tries to pull me back. "I'm not letting you fuck up my work."

"Kindly unhand me, you rude ruffian!" I retorted, shrugging his hand off.

"You dare to talk back to me...?"He tries to slap me...

...But I grab him by the wrist and spin his arm around his back into a hammerlock. "And you shouldn't have tried to do that either." I added, pushing his arm upwards, causing him pain.

"ARGH! MY ARM! LET GO YOU CRAZY FOUR EYED BITCH!"

"My word...Such foul language! You'll never get any respect with that attitude, Fidi." I replied. "Now I'll let you go, but only if you ask me nicely like a proper gentleman. So let's try that again. And this time, do be so kind to be polite."

"GAAH! Alright alright! Let me go..._*grunts*_... please" Well close enough, so I release him. "Fine then, you wanna blow us sky-high, go ahead, but don't say I didn't warn you."

"Thank you Fidi... Now then where was I..." I went back to comparing the two Strihm formulas... Ah! Just as I thought... Move this decimal two spaces to the right..._*beep beep boob boop*_... harmonize the wavelength... _*zuga zuga zing zing*_... switch these frequencies around..._*whump whump whump whump*_... and tweak the minimum and maximum parameters... _*zwiga zwiga zong zong*_... And finally... press this button..._*press*_... And the barrier blastia...shuts down.

"Julia! What have you done!?" Flynn shouted. "Sodia, get the squad to the front gate! We're gonna be expecting a lot of monsters any second!"

"Yes, sir!" Sodia saluted. "You heard the man! MOVE!"

"HAH! I knew you'd fuck it up, you stupid bitch!" Fidi gloated. "Now get the fuck away from the controls!" He demanded. But I just stood there.

"Let him at the controls, Julia!" Flynn ordered.

"Just wait a sec..." I replied. "This blastia is just rebooting. It should be starting right about...now." And right on cue(give or take three seconds), the barrier blastia came back on, covering the town in its monster repelling field. "Ah here we go, the problem was that Fidi's formula was out of alignment and non-standard. Barrier Blastias were meant to be run normally on a normal Strihm formula, which this one originally was. You could have damaged it with that skewed formula of yours Fidi."

"You could have warned us that you were going to reboot it, Julia." Flynn said.

"Sorry, Flynn." I apologized. "I didn't realize I had to reboot it until right after I fixed that formula. Again my humblest apologizes."

"I'll admit, that barrier blastia's sounding reasonably normal now." Flynn said, listening to the soothing hum of the blastia. "As you would expect from someone with an I.Q. Of 120."

"Thanks Flynn." I said. "It also helps that I had experience helping out with tuning 'Big Zed' back home." You'd be surprised where my maid duties take me in that castle.

"Wait a minute, did you say Big Zed...?" One of the scholars said. "As in the barrier blastia of the Empire's capitol...?"

"I do believe that's what I said." I answered.

"Wow... You help tune and maintain the royal blastia that protects Zaphais..." The scholar said. Actually I keep the control room neat and tidy. "Then maybe you ought to be our foreman on this guy. You certainly did a lot better job of it than Fidi did."

"Hey! Don't you dare say that!" Fidi objected. "Besides she was just lucky."

"Well the offer sounds rather good..." I said. "...But I feel I must simply decline. I have enough on my plate as it is with restoring the public library. Anyway the blastia's running fine provided(looking at Fidi) no one tampers with the formula. The formula I inputted should be good for now, but I do admit there is one person who could have done it way better..."

"Who...?" They ask.

"Oh just my mentor who helped me study for my exams and helped me become the scholar I am today, Rita Mordio." I replied. "I overheard that she's here, if any of you see her, tell her I left that book, 'Discourses on Aer' at the Aspio library." A while back, I borrowed that book from her to see if I could crack it's code. Didn't have much luck with it so when I went back to Aspio to do my exams and return the book, Rita wasn't there anymore, so I left it at the library for safekeeping.

"Rita taught you...?" Fidi said. "What's your name...?"

"I'm Julia DuBois." I answered. "Castle maid, librarian, and a few other things, some of them I'm simply not too proud of..."

"Uh huh..." Fidi stroked his chin. "Well I ain't gonna forget this, Julia. I'm certain my superiors will want to hear about this. But right now, get the hell outta my sight, I don't wanna see you near my blastia again, it's mine...MINE!"

"Well now...I simply don't think I'd like to see you again either, you rude, uncouth, ruffian. Good day. HUMPH!" I turn around, nose in the air and return to my fellow scholars.

"You sure know how to make friends and influence people." Flynn commented.

"Yeah, Flynn..." I replied. "I suppose I could have done a better job with him. But something about Fidi absolutely rubs me the wrong way. How did someone like him ever become a scholar I'll never know. The monsters I sometimes fight were friendlier. Even that blastia was friendlier, and that's an inanimate object." The other scholars agree.

"Well, any way, let's get you guys up to the library..." Flynn said. "And afterwords, if you have any questions, I'll be over at the knights HQ." We left the barrier blastia in the... care... of Fidi and made our way to our new residence... The public library of Shizontonia.

_**(Standard POV)**_

As Fidi watched the new librarians leave, he felt himself seething with rage. _"How...How dare that __hoidy-toidy stuck-up__ four-eyed bitch be smarter than me...?"_ he thought to himself. He felt humiliated, insulted, he hadn't felt like this since...well...Rita criticized his formulas months ago before he, thanks to a customized zoikós blastia, had her drugged and turned into a slut that likes being raped every day._ "Maybe I oughta do the same thing to her."_ He thought about drugging Julia._ "Wait a sec...She said her name was Julia, Right...I wonder... __Well never mind it for now... I'll look into that after supper... While I'm venting my frustrations on that little slave of mine... I'll teach her to to teach that four eyed __snobbish__ slut!"_He looks at the formula that Julia inputted. And listens to how well that blastia runs. And it makes him seethe some more._ "Oh yes, Julia, you will pay for touching MY blastia. You will FUCKING pay, and I'm gonna take it out on your little friend too..."_

* * *

_**(Fidi's apartment, later that evening)**_

_**(Rita' POV)**_

When master(Fidi) came back from work, I could tell from his breath that he has been drinking. Next thing I knew, he slaps me across the face, knocking me to the floor. "Master, What is wrong?" I asked, tears welling in my eyes. "Have I done something to displease you...?"

"Speak only if I give you permission, Rita." Master growled. He pulls on my chain, tugging on my collar and pulls me right to his face. "And you have done something...And I'm VERY angry with you!" He slaps me across the face a few more times. Then he throws he hard against the wall. "You were teaching some snobbish four-eyed bimbo to be as smart as you! HOW DARE YOU!" He grabs me by my scalp and slaps me again.

"What are you talking about master...?" I asked. Master pushes me onto his bed.

"I'll give you some hints, Rita..." Master replied. "She's 5'7", short dark brown hair, blue eyes behind a pair of round rim glasses, speaks with a hoidy-toidy Noble Quarter accent, supposedly has an I.Q. Of 120, and is a maid working at the castle in Zaphais..." My eyes widen... "So...You know who she is... Well tell me her name..." Master demanded, pinning me down.

"Her name is...Julia DuBois..." I answered. "I was helping her study to be a scholar up until I became your willing sex-slave, Master."

"I thought as much... You do know her Rita..." Master starts pulling off my clothes, exposing my bruised, naked body, he enjoys beating as well as raping me... And I enjoyed every minute of it. "You four-eyed friend wanted to let you know that she returned a book she borrowed from you, It's at the Aspio library, Not that you'll ever see it again. But you know what's even worse...?"

What, Master...?" I asked as he fondled my breasts... "AAHN...!"

"Like you, before I made you mine, That bitch humiliated me today..." Master pinches my nipples...

"AAH! My nipples...! Harder, Master...! Pinch them harder... AAH...! AH! AH! AHN!" I cried in ecstasy.

"And like you, she's gonna fucking pay for making a fool of me..." Master licks my breasts _*lick lick lick*_ AH...! So good...! "Like you, I'm gonna drug her and make her my slave..." Master declares, inserting his fingers deep into my pussy... AH...! Deeper, Master, push your fingers in deeper...! Ah! AAHN...! "So how do you like that, bitch?"

"But...But, Master...You...HAH! AAH...!...You Can't...! AHN!" I cried between the jabs of my master's forceful fingers.

"Why can't I, Rita...?" Master retracts his fingers. "Tell me..."

"Ahn...! I've heard stories, Master..." I moaned. "That she was a victor of the games six years ago."

"Oh yeah, that event..." Master replied as he jammed his fingers into my ass. "So what if she killed a bunch of kids..."

"HAAH AH! AH! AAH...!" I cried from his fingers wriggling inside my ass, making me feel so tingly and good. "But, Master, she's an experienced monster fighter... AH...! I've seen her fight myself...AHN! She's dangerous, Master, she might kill you...AHN...! AAH! Please, my master, I don't want you to die...AAH...! AAH!" I begged.

"Soooo... She's that dangerous huh...?" Master said, still wriggling his fingers inside me. "I appreciate your concern for my well being, Rita. But still, I doubt not even she can be a match for my valssuwreath's grip, and when my pet drugs her, I'll keep her for myself to do as I please..." Master undresses, and masturbates his dick until it becomes big, long and stiff. "Open wide, Rita, I'm coming in." My Master ordered and I open up my mouth and I let him insert his dick.

"_*suck suck suck*_Mmn...! Mmm...Mmbf! Mmmm...Mmmn...!_*suck some more*_ Nguh...! Mmmn...!" I moans as I sucked hard on his dick.

"Heh heh heh... You've gotten a whole lot better at this, Rita..." Master smiled as I sucked. "Guess practice DOES make perfect..." How right he is... Ever since I became his slave, I sucked on more dicks than I could remember. I even once did a marathon of blow-jobs, one after another with master when we did that photo-shoot for Kitano's porn magazine,'Putting the Cart Before the Horse'. We went up to forty-eight before I got too sick to continue.

Not To mention, I did some other stunts for that fat Yurzorean in the green shirt, like peeing in a post like a dog, both clothed and naked, lapping up cum from a bowl, wearing nothing more than cat-ears and black stockings,

Performing naked in the plaza rubbing my scarf against my pussy until I pissed all over the place,

and finally, Master had his pet monster use its... dick-shaped tentacles on my ass and pussy, it pumped me so full of its cum that my womb inflated to near bursting, and I actually had cum run up through my digestive tract and pour out of my mouth.

That stunt nearly killed me, but it all felt soo good. Master was a bit disappointed that he couldn't have sex with me for about a week or so afterword while I was being healed of my internal injuries incurred in that stunt... "Suck it down real good..." Master ordered.

"_*sucky sucky suck suck*_Mmf, nuu mmn mmbf(Yes, my dear Master)." I replied and continued to suck for another minute before Master decided to pull it out.

"On your hands and knees..." Master said."Now I'm gonna fuck you like the bitch you are, Rita..."

"Yes, Master..." I obediently got onto my hands and knees, my ass facing my master and his thick dick. "I don't care if you put in my pussy or my ass...Please be rough with me..." I innocently smiled.

"Oh, It'll be rough all right, my little drugged up slut..." Master places his dick on my pussy.

"AH..." I gasped from it's touch.

"Take this BITCH!_*thrust*_" Master drives his dick peep into my pussy.

"EEK!" I screamed"NNGH...GUH..." It's going in so DEEP! "Yes...Ah!" As always, it hurts..."Hah...AAAH!" But the pain... FEELS SO GOOD! "AH! HAH! HAH! AAHN! AH! AH!"

"_*thrust thrust thrust*_ Oh, you like that, bitch_*thrust thrust*_" Master snarled. "Plenty more where that came from." And he _*THRUST THRUST THRUST*_ Even harder...

"HYAAH... Oh yes...! OH YES...! Harder, master...! Fuck me EVEN HARDER...!" I screamed with sheer joy.

"_*thrust thrust*_ If you like that, you little slut, then you'll love what I'm about to tell you next... After I pinch your nipples..._*__pinch pinch pinch__*_" Master pinches my nipples.

"Aahn...! ow OWW..! My nipples...! OW OW!" I yelped as master pinches them... "My nipples are tingling... AH! AH! OW OW! AAAH! NUUUU...! My Pussy...MY PUSSY...! HYAH...!" His dick is grinding so deep... So good...so Nuuuu...!

"There's two guys from the council coming over to see me... and you..._*thrust thrust*_... Looks like I'm about to cum inside you..._*more thrust thrust*_... How do you like that...?" Master was now reaching up to my womb...

….I felt my inside tingle like crazy, I'm about to cum too. "HAH AH HYA! I'd like that, Master... AH HYGAH NUAAH...! I'd like that a lot... AH AAHN! I'm gonna cum. I AH HAAH! I'm gonna damn cum!"

"Here's your daily punishment, bitch...!" Master announced as I felt his hot cum pour deep into my pussy...

"HAH! HAAHN! HAAH!"...It feel this good! Oh yes...It feels so good! It feels soo good! "AAAH... I'M GONNA CUM! I'M GONNA CUM!" I yelled "AH! AH! AH!" It feels oh soo good...Oh yes OH YES...! "YEEESSS! HAH! AAAHN! AH...AH!" It feels like I'm gonna faint... "AAHN! AH! AH! AAAAAAAAAAH!_*splork*_" Oh YES! I think I just... came... "_*gasping*_ HAH... AAH... OOOH..." I can feel him...Throbbing and grinding inside me...It's splashing around...And it feels so good... And then I collapse as master extracts his dick..."...Thank you...Master..."

_**(Standard POV)**_

As Fidi dressed himself, leaving the still naked, and semiconscious Rita lying on the bed, still oozing semen from her vaginal opening, he hears a knock on the door... _*knock knock*_... "Just a sec...I'm getting dressed... Okay you can come in..." Fidi said, the door opens and in enters two councilmen. "Ah, welcome councilman Nero, Councilman Bruno..." Fidi bows. "How may this humble scholar serve you..."

"We have a message from baron Ragou." Nero replied

"Baron...?" Fidi asked. "Last I heard, Ragou was just a lord..."

"And now he's a baron." Bruno said. "Thanks to lady Estellise, who slept with duke Calvin last week. We're now making her sleep with several bigwigs to raise Ragou's ranking in the nobility. With any luck, and with their support, Ragou will be high enough in the nobility to marry lady Estellise before the year's out. Provided that the competition's taken care of."

"Which brings us to the message in question..." Nero interjected. "Master Ioder is arriving here next week to inspect the town's restoration progress. Baron Ragou wants your help...and your zoikós blastia... to make sure that won't happen."

"I see..." Fidi stroked his chin. "So what do you want me to do... Have him mauled by an egg-bear? Ripped apart by a wolf pack? Pecked to death by axe-beaks? Mangled by mandragoras? Stung to death by giant bees? Or better yet... ensnared, drugged, raped to death and eaten by my valssuwreath...?'

"Well actually, we want those things done to his escort, Fidi." Nero answered.

"Except for the valssuwreath, We still need him to make our drug to continue controlling lady Estellise." Bruno added. "We got other people to take care of that."

And right on cue, a tall man wearing a stylish blue tailcoat and spiky grey hair walks in the door. "Guten abend, herr Fidi..." The stylish man introduces himself. "Yeager von Reinhart, at your service."

"Yeager is the leader of the guild, Leviathan's Claw, who specializes in kidnappings, murder, and keeping secrets...secret." Nero explained. "You've heard of that a knight that was murdered in Zaphais a few weeks ago..." Fidi nods... "That was their doing. Heh heh heh, That oughta teach Wesley(the knight) to try and take what's rightfully Ragou's."

"As well as send a message to Eric and his gang that we don't fuck around." Bruno added. "Those smelly thugs are still useful to us...for now..."

"Uh huh..." Fidi nodded.

"Anyvay, herr Fidi. Vhen the prinz makes his vay here, you'll use zat darling little blastia of yours to make ze monsters ruin ze escort's day vhile me und my red-eyed swipe ze prinz und deliver him to herr Ragou, Ja...?"

"Ja...Um I mean yes." Fidi replied. "I'll see to it that your plans are carried out my lords."

"Excellent, Fidi..." Nero said. "Remember this conversation never happened and we...were never here."

"Understood, but before you go..." Fidi points them at Rita.

"Hmmm...Don't see why not, Fidi..." Nero smiles evilly.

"Yeah, let's do her, the same as we did with lady Estellise." Bruno suggested, recalling how the two of them, with Ragou's blessing, had their way with the drugged princess.

"Okay, Bruno, but this time...I do the pussy, you can have her ass..." Nero said.

"I'll pass mein herrs." Yeager declines. "I never mix sex with business... Have fun..." Yeager leaves. And Fidi closes the door, muffling out the ecstatic cries of Rita as the two corrupt councilmen...have their way...

* * *

_**(End Part 4)**_

_**Author's Notes:**_

_**Both the town of Shizontonia and Merzhom originally appeared I the movie 'Tales of Vesperia, the First Strike'. I'm not sure what guild Merzhom led so I had to make one up.**_

_**When I was reading the fan-fic 'Hunger Games Galaxies' by war 292400, In particular the part of involving D8(Vesperia), There was mention that that their most recent victor was a twelve year old girl from the Hunting Blades, and from all appearances, Nan looked like she'd fit the bill. I figure she won the second to last event, with Sync the Tempest of D6(AKA Auldrant of Tales of the Abyss) taking last year's. Speaking of Sync, I'm planning of having him appear in a Brütal Legend prequel fan-fic somewhere down the road. Once I get done with the Vesperia prequels. Oh yeah, I'm aware that Nan got reaped(probably again). But that's how the dice rolls I guess.**_

_**This chapter will be Julia and Fidi's first run in, and it's easy to see that those two have got off on the wrong foot. Something tells me that Julia's gonna be running into a certain flat topped monster with green tentacles in the near future...**_

_**The stunts Rita did for Kitano were taken from the rule-34 fan-art,**__**そこあげ**__**(Sokoage= There Fried) and**_**そとづけ**_**(Sotozuke=Outside Pickled)by the fan-artist, Honmatsu Tentou. I swear that guy just loves acting the stereotype and embarrassing Japan.**_

_**Also I figured I'd set up how I think prince Ioder will be kidnapped.**_

_**And that's all there is to say, see you all next chapter.**_


	5. Dude, Where's My Prince?

_**Part 5. Dude, Where's my Prince?**_

* * *

_**(Knights HQ, Shizontonia)**_

_**(Flynn's POV)**_

Right now We're getting the HQ cleaned up and made usable. I noticed there was a sign hung on the office door, 'Room being cleaned, Do be kind to keep out', Huh...? As I open the door to the office to see what's going on. the office, I was nearly blinded by how clean everything now looked. The windows were sparking, the walls were scrubbed, the desk and woodwork was polished. What happened here...? "Hey, can't you read... Oh...Good morning, Flynn." Julia smiled at me... Huh...? Julia...? And she's wearing her maid outfit...? And currently mopping the floor. Guess that might explain a few things.

"Julia, you didn't have to clean up my office... well...Niren's office actually." I said.

"Well, Flynn, after seeing it last night, I simply couldn't get myself to sleep." Julia explained. "And seeing that I went and packed my maid uniform before leaving Zaphais to take my exams..."

"You though it was a good excuse to put it on once more and do some maid work before doing the library." I said.

"Actually, Flynn, both the knights HQ and the Library are both going to be needing some cleaning as well, So it looks like I'll be wearing this for a while, while I get them tidied up. Would you mind stepping out, I'm mopping the floor right now."

"Okay then..." I closed the door, and listened to Julia hum a happy sounding tune as she finished mopping the floor... Eventually she comes out pushing a cart of cleaning gear, them mops up the tracks and footprints leading out. "How long will it be before I can use it...?" I asked.

"Fifteen...twenty minutes tops." Julia answered, placing a sign that says 'Wet floor, Kindly do not enter' on the door. "In the meantime, how 'bout we go to the cafeteria and get some breakfast...?"

"Hmm... Might as well." I replied and we went to the cafeteria...

"Good morning, sir Flynn." Sodia greeted us as we sat down with our breakfasts. "Oh, good morning to you two Julia. Finish sir Flynn's office...?"

"It's currently drying right now, Sodia." Julia answers. "If you want, while I'm here I can clean up your rooms as well." She offers.

"I sure we could handle it ourselves..." Sodia said.

"Think nothing of it, Sodia, dear..." Julia said. "Maybe you two could clean your rooms, but some things simply require a maids touch. I just can't abide the fact that your rooms look so absolutely dingy_*shudder*_. It's the absolute least I could do for my friends."

"Better go with it, Sodia." I said. "Julia's better at cleaning rooms than we are." I added recalling at how good she keeps lady Estellise's room tidy.

"If you say so, sir Flynn." Sodia agrees.

"Thank you, Sodia..." Julia smiled. "I should have them both done before lunch, Then its off to clean up the Library."

"And help sort out the books." I said.

"That too, Flynn." Julia smiled. "A clean Library is a welcoming library."

* * *

_**(The public library, afternoon)**_

After doing morning patrols, me and Sodia went to check on the progress at the library. Sure enough, things were pretty busy. It didn't take too long to take stock of what they had left, which wasn't very many books and scrolls, so mostly they were doing cleaning and repairs. Not surprisingly, Julia, who was still wearing her maid uniform, was definitely in her element, wiping down the mostly bare shelves.

"Hey, Julia..." I called out to her as she was cleaning out a top shelf... ten feet up. "How goes the battle...?"

"Oh, Heya, Flynn. Hold on...I'll be right down..." Instead of climbing down the ladder, Julia leaps to the floor, her skirt billowing out, she lands gracefully on her feet and pauses a couple of seconds to let her skirt fall back into place, covering her legs once more. "I do sincerely hope you weren't peeking."

"Kind hard not to, Julia" I replied.

"Well, since it's you two, it's perfectly okay..." Julia smiled through her smudged face, showing that she's been pretty busy. "Well as for the battle, it's simply quite clear that it's completely lost, many good books shall never be heard from again... _*sniffle*_... It makes me so sad that they were wasted by those awful brigands. Only thing we can do now is treat the survivors of this massacre, get this place cleaned up, and see if we can get this library re-populated."

"You may have lost the battle, Julia..." I started.

"I know, Flynn... But we scholars will STILL win the war!" Julia finished, holding her fist in the air, a look of determination on her face. "As soon as those Fortune's Market people show up."

"I've been wanting to ask, Julia..." One of the scholars showed up. Like Julia he wore glasses, and he had brown hair and wore a green and white scholar robe. "Why are you cosplaying as a maid?"

"I had a feeling someone was gonna ask me that, sooner or later, Simon." Julia replied. "Believe it or not I really AM a maid."

"Take her word for it, Simon." I added. "She has been working as a maid at the castle for the last three years as well as part-timing as a librarian."

"And occasionally helping with 'Big Zed', don't forget that." Julia added.

"Oh yeah, I forgot you mentioned that yesterday, Julia, But seeing as you're dressed like that..." Simon said_**(I know I know, Lame pun, Author)**_, and we noticed the other scholars looking at us. "Could you...um..." He twirls his finger around...

...and apparently, Julia seemed to understand what it meant. "_*blush*_ Oh, good grief, I was afraid of this..._*blush some more*_"

"Pleeeaaassseee, Julia..." The young scholars begged. "We wanna see you do it..."

"Oh..._*bush*_... all right then..." Julia blushed. "But just this once okay..." She takes a deep breath... and twirls around, her face flashing a very cute smile. To be honest, I've wanted to see her do that.

"Oooooooo...Aaaaaaah..." The scholars all grinned. "That was soo beautiful, Julia..." One scholar said. "Soo graceful, and maidenly..." Another one one added hands on her cheeks and smiling. "I can finally die happy..." A third one commented, tears flowing down his face. "Thank you, Julia, Thank you." And a fourth one gives Julia a thumbs up.

All those compliments made Julia rather giddy. "_*giddy*_ Aw shucks, Thank you guys and gals...(in a more serious tone) Now let's get back to work. This library isn't simply going to clean itself."

"Yes, Ma'am!" The scholars saluted and went back to work.

"Oh, almost forgot, Julia. You wanted to know when the people from Fortune's Marked showed up, right...?" Simon said.

"I did, Simon." Julia replied.

"Well, they're here." Simon told her.

"Thank you, that'll be all." Julia then turns to us. "Well Flynn, Looks like I'm going to busy for the rest of the day ordering in new books. So it looks like I won't be seeing you til sundown. Hope you two enjoyed the show."

"Okay then, see you at suppertime, Julia." I waved good-bye and we left the library.

* * *

_**(On patrol in the surrounding countryside, A week or so later)**_

Me and the squad were to meet up with master Ioder's entourage today and help escort them into Shizontonia. We were already in position, overlooking the road.

"You sure they're arriving today, sir Flynn?" Sodia, who, like me was watching the direction they were supposed to arrive in asked.

"Positive, Sodia..." I replied. "Besides I think that might be them." I added, noticing the dust-cloud nearly a mile away. I pull out my binoculars to check... "That's them alright..." I said as I recognized master Ioder's personal carriage, escorted by sir Jurgis and the rest of the brigade. "Sodia get the men up, we move in five minutes."

"Yes, sir..." Sodia replied. "Huh...? That's weird... Sir Flynn, the dust-cloud got bigger all of a sudden... and there's a flare going up."

"A flare...?"I looked at the flare and I saw it was red... Oh shit! Red flares are our signal for monster/brigand attack, And sure enough, I looked through my binoculars to see that the brigade was under heavy monster assault! "Sodia, we move in five SECONDS! Monsters are attacking master Ioder!"

"You heard the man MOVE!" Sodia shouted. "The prince is in danger and we gotta save him!" Everybody quickly got on our horses and we rode like mad-men towards the fighting...

By the time we got there, there were already several dead monsters, unfortunately, there were also several dead knights. I noticed some of my old companions, Elvin, Ivan, David, and Hanks Jr. fighting off a large group of wolves. And another group comprised of sir Jurgis, the twins, Chris, Kunsuke, and Pete surrounded my a mix of mandragoras and giant bees. Both groups were just barely holding off the monsters... Time to tip the odds. "Sodia, Henry, Sherman, Frank, Chuck, Benjamin, and Beejay, Go aid that group!" I ordered, pointing at Elvin's team. "Bernard, Richard, Patrick, Daniel, Harris, Perkins, you're with me!" I shouted.

"Yes, sir!" Everyone saluted.

"CHAAARRRGGGEEE!" I shouted and we galloped into the fray... Our charge scattered the monsters Killing several in the process, I was able to nail a bee and two mandragoras while Sodia slashed two wolves and rode down a third. We quickly dismounted and continued to take out the monsters on foot. "Sir Jurgis, we saw your flare and came as fast as we could!" I shouted over the noise of the fighting.

"It's a good thing you did." Sir Jurgis replied as he decapitated a mandragora and the twins each kill a mandragora. "These bastards are giving us a hard time, killed several good knights in the first charge, and we got separated from master Ioder."

"Oh, man these monsters are crazy!" Chastel shouted as she used photon on a small swarm of bees.

"No kidding! They wouldn't attack such a large group of knights like this!" Hisca added, taking down a wolf. "Just what's going on here...?"

"Is master Ioder Okay...?" I asked just as a bee attacked. "Oh no you don't!" I dodged its stinger and sliced its wings, grounding it so I could finish it off with a stab to its abdomen.

"His coach was able to get clear along with some of my men!" Sir Jurgis replied. "Flynn look out!" I turn around to see two more bees charging at us. But before we could get our defenses up, they were both hit with arrows and were dead before we hit the ground. I turned around to notice that in Jurgis's group was none other than Raven! What's he doing out here...?

"Two more for me, Jurgis..." Raven said. "One more monster and I oughta be tied."

Then Sir Jurgis kills two more mandragoras. "You were saying, Raven?"

"Aw, man...!" Raven rolled his eyes. "Oh well, better get caught up..." And resumes shooting at the monsters. While me and sir Jurgis each take down a mandragora.

Meanwhile Sodia's group was about to get hit by another pack of wolves and a giant wild boar. "Keep back, men. I'm gonna see if I could thin the pack a bit!" Sodia charges up her spell circle. "O power that tries soul shine...PHOTON!" A sphere of pure light manifests in front of the boar and explodes, killing it and five additional wolves and scattering up the pack. Two of the surviving wolves rush at Sodia, She quickly slashes the throat of the first wolf, and when she turns to engage its partner, we see that it's been intercepted by a large blue war-dog, which slashes the wolf's throat with a...dagger in its mouth...? Wait a second...Is that...?

Uh oh! Never mind that for now! We just see a large group of bees and axe-beaks rushing towards us. "Chastel, Hisca, thin that herd!" Sir Jurgis shouted.

"Gotcha, captain!" Chastel replied. "You up to it, Hisca?"

"You bet, Chastel! Let's do this!" Hisca grips Chastel's wrist and the two of them start glowing. "Oh divine spears, run our enemies through...HOLY LANCE!" and suddenly the monsters get mowed down by a rain of spears of pure light. While this arte is quite powerful when used by one user, tag-teaming will triple its effect. We quickly polish off the few surviving monsters from that group.

Suddenly the monsters retreat, leaving behind a field soaked in the blood of at least four dozen monsters... and sadly several knights. If it hadn't been for my squad, the body-count might have been higher Just then, that war-dog that's been helping Sodia notices me. "_*whine...? WOOF WOOF WOOF*_!" And comes running towards me, almost knocking me down.

"Hey there Repede!" I greeted the one-eyed war-dog that me and Yuri co-own. "You missed me didn't you...?" Repede happily licks my face. "But what are you doing here...?"

Raven then answered. "I was talkin' ta Yuri the other day that I was gonna be headin' up ta Shizontonia ta check up on the blastia progress, and I might have let slip that you were up there. Repede was clearly wantin' ta see ya so Yuri let me take him with me."

"Is that so, Repede...?" I asked.

"_*WOOF WOOF WOOF*_" Repede happily barked.

"Well we better get these bodies bagged and taken to Shizontonia for burial." Sir Jurgis grimly ordered and we wrapped them up in sheets and loaded them onto a supply cart that just rejoined us. "Now then let's catch up with master Ioder." And we proceeded further up the road...

_**(Sometime later)**_

...We soon caught up with Master Ioder's carriage, But soon we noticed that something was wrong... the cart wasn't moving... the doors were opened... the horses that pulled it were both dead... Along with the five knights that were guarding it... "Oh, no...! MASTER IODER!" I shouted as I jumped off my horse and ran up to the carriage to see that it was...empty... Master Ioder was gone. I could hear the twins sobbing outside, I can't really blame them. "Master Ioder's not here." I quietly said.

"Flynn, Jurgis, could ya come here for a sec..." Raven said as he examined one of the corpses. "There something interesting with these stiffs."

"What's so interesting about them, Raven...Other than they're dead." Sir Jurgis asked.

"Notice their injuries, these aren't rips made by a monster... these were cuts" Raven pointed. "And notice something familiar about them...?"

I looked at the bodies for a couple of minutes before I soon realized something. "Yeah, now that you mention it, The slash patterns look almost like the ones found on Wesley's body when he was found dead in the Lower Quarter a few weeks ago."

"Wait a sec, sir Flynn. Are you trying to tell me that whoever killed that jerk, Wesley... Is running around offing knights...?" Sodia said. "Those poor guys didn't deserve that, and I hate to admit, neither did Wesley."

"Hmmmmm... No blood in here..." Raven said as he examined the inside of master Ioder's carriage. "... Well, guys...something tells me that the prince has been swiped."

"You're telling me that the prince has been kidnapped...?" Sir Jurgis said.

"It would pretty much appear so." Raven replied. "Near as I could tell, as they were getting clear of that brouhaha we were caught in..." He looks at the slain horses. "...Our...friend made his move. First he slashed the horses throats, immobilizing the cart..." Then he walks over to the dead knights. "And when these guys tried to stop him, he, or she mowed them down one by one. And when they were all kacked..." He walks over to the carriage. "He subdued the prince and removed him from the carriage just like that. I can smell a little bit of chloroform in here, so that's how the prince was subdued."

"Repede, can you track them...?" I asked.

Repede sniff around for a few minutes, but couldn't pick up the scent. "_*whine*_." he moaned in disappointment.

"I don't think the pooch is gonna find anything..." Raven replied. "Whoever did this would have known how not to leave a scent trail."

"Damn!" Sir Jurgis pounds his fist in the carriage in frustration. "This is a disaster... Alright, get this carriage unhooked, and get any live horses we can spare hooked up. And bring those men too, they deserve a funeral as well."

"Yes, Sir!" We saluted and went about the grim task or prepping our fallen men for burial. We unhitched the carriage and put two live horses on it, leaving the slain horses for the scavengers to dispose of, and we made our way back to Shizontonia. No doubt about it, this has been a disaster.

* * *

_**(Knights HQ, Shizontonia, later that evening)**_

"I heard about what happened to master Ioder, Jurgis..." Julia(now wearing her librarian clothes) said when she entered. "How did this simply happen...?"

"I'm not quite sure, Julia..." Sir Jurgis replied as he was writing out letters of condolences to the families of those fallen knights. "All I know was that we were escorting master Ioder, minding our own business when suddenly a large group of monsters attacked, killing seven of our most recent recruits before we could form defensive groups to hold them off and protect master Ioder's escape."

"Then I rode in and help drive off the attacking monsters and avenge our comrades." I added. "Not to mention we also met up with..."

"_*WOOF WOOF!*_" Repede happily barked, and knocked Julia down. And started licking her face, almost licking her glasses off.

"AAH! Repede!? Ah! Stop that! It Tickles! Ha ha ha ha! It tickles! I missed you too okay? Ha ha ha ha! Okay okay! Can you let me up now...?" Repede lets her up. "Heh heh... The one male I'll ever allow to lick me... As long it's just my face." She dusts herself off. "So how's my knife fighting training going for you...?" She pats Repede on the head.

"Apparently quite well, Julia." Sir Jurgis replied. "He took out quite a few of those monsters."

"He even helped me out." Sodia added.

"Good boy, Repede." Julia patted Repede. "I'll have to get you some ground beef later. I take it you wanted to see Flynn and me."

"_*woof woof woof*_" Repede replied.

Then she turned back to us. "So what happened next...?"

Sodia answered. "After the monsters, we went to find Master Ioder's carriage, and when we found it, we discovered five more dead knights, two dead horses, and an empty carriage. And from the looks of the carriage, master Ioder was subdued and spirited away. All of it looked like the work of assassins."

"Assassins...?" Julia replied. "May I have a look at the bodies...?" She requested.

"Are you sure about this...?" I asked. "It isn't pretty."

"I'm sure, Flynn." Julia sternly answered. "You must remember I'm no fainting lily. But I just want to see the bodies found near the carriage."

"As you wish, Julia." Sir Jurgis agreed. "Flynn, Sodia, take miss DuBois to the morgue."

"Yes, Sir!" We saluted and we led Julia to the morgue, leaving sir Jurgis to finish writing his letters of condolences.

_**(The Morgue, moments later)**_

We showed Julia one of the bodies... "Oh my word, how awful." Julia gasped. "Even I'm not that vicious..." This coming from someone who, a few years ago, slaughtered a gang of armed rapists. "This pattern..." She examines the cut-marks on the stomach, throat, and arms and legs and the deep gouges on the ruined armor. "...Multiple slashes in places where you need only one cut to finish the job... Oh dear... I know only person who would go for this kind of overkill..."

"Do you know who, Julia...?" I asked.

"Titus Weaver... The son of the man my father hired to teach me knife fighting and the martial arts before he died nine years ago..." Julia replied. "but you'll probably know this man by another name...Zagi..."

"Zagi...?" Me and Sodia asked as Julia covered the dead knight with a sheet. "So... That's who killed Wesley a few weeks ago..."

"Wesley's dead...?" Julia replied. Apparently, they don't get the Wonder News up in Aspio. "Sorry, we weren't allowed any news from the outside world as we took our exams." She explained. "Can't say I'm not too sad to hear that he's gone, that freckle-faced Cumore brigade knight was simply a pain in the rump, figuratively of course. He's always trying to hit on me, and I keep telling him that he's simply not my type(and even if he were, I STILL wouldn't go out with that weasel.)."

"Sheesh, tell me about..." Sodia added. "Both him and sir Cumore were the reasons I wanted to transfer out of that brigade. And even after I joined the Jurgis Brigade he kept hitting on me...And I kept punching him in the face..."

"Anyway, Anything else you know about Zagi, Julia...?" I asked.

"Well, last I heard, he was working as a blade for hire with this assassin guild known as the Red Eyes, revolting bunch." Julia commented. "He's not someone you don't want to mess with, Flynn. Zagi's completely vicious and crazy, and a hardened killer to boot. Even I don't know if I'm a match for him. Best to avoid him at all costs." She sternly suggested, a look of worry on her face.

"Noted, Julia..." I nodded. Anyone that would make Julia worry like that makes me worried as well. "Well, it's apparent that the Red Eyes are involved with master Ioder's disappearance, and I'm REALLY worried about his safety." Well, better go inform sir Jurgis about this...

* * *

_**(Somewhere west of Shizontonia, in a sheltered cove on the coast)**_

_**(Standard POV)**_

A black hearse, pulled by four pitch-black horses, driven by two cloaked figures, and escorted by several riders wearing blue jackets, their faces hidden behind red-eyed masks rode towards the cove.

Awaiting them in the cove was a schooner, and on it's shore was a large boat with a ramp, guarded by eight oarsmen. The hearse, and its outriders, with perfect discipline, rode up onto the ramp and onto the boat.

The boat casts off, and rows towards the schooner, despite the rocking of the boat, the horses, still mounted stay perfectly still and quiet, save for the occasional snort.

The boat soon reaches the black schooner, ans soon it is lifted out of the water and onto the deck. The boat's ramp is lowered, and the hearse rolls off and onto a lift, taking it down to the hold where it is secured and the sinister horses are stabled.

Awaiting them in the hold were two men garbed in the robes of the council. "Well, Yeager, I trust the operation was fruitful..." Nero asked.

The first cloaked man removes his cloak. "See for yourselves, mein herrs." Yeager opens the hearse's coffin to reveal prince, Ioder bound and gagged, and looking scared.

The second driver also removes his cloak. "It's too bad there weren't any more knights for me to kill." Zagi snarled, sounding a bit...disappointed. "If it weren't for the fact that we needed you alive..." He threatens Ioder with one of those wicked knives of his.

"I do admit zose knights guarding der prinz vere quite brave, ja? Unlike zat Cumore Brigade knight you sent Zagi to kill." Yeager commented.

"Yeah, boss..." Zagi said. "It was kinda funny watching that freckle faced punk beg and plead for his worthless life... Before I left him in a river of his own blood that ran through the Red Light District. MWA HA HA HA HA!" he laughs insanely. "It's too bad I was ordered to spare fatso there, how disappointing..."

"We did tell you that Eric Onkos and his gang was useful to us, and we wanted to make sure he got the message." Bruno reminded.

"Yeah, yeah..." Zagi replied. "I'm gonna grab some shut-eye. Don't disturb me unless you want to die." Zagi then exits the hold.

Ioder is taken to a cabin and is soon untied. "I do hope you vill find ze accommodations to your liking, mein prinz..." Yeager bowed. "But for now, I must get ze Demeter ready for it's departure. It vill be a fairly long voyage to Nor Harbor, vhere you vill be a guest of herr Ragou. Ta ta..." and Yeager leaves Ioder in the cabin with Nero and Bruno, who lock the door.

"W...What's the meaning of this...?" Ioder demanded.

"We simply want you out of the way..." Nero started.

"So that you won't be able to prevent baron Ragou from marrying lady Estellise." Bruno finished.

"Ragou... Marrying my cousin...?" Ioder gasped. 'There's no way Estellise will stand for that..."

"Oh, but she will, master Ioder..." Nero slyly replied. "Matter of fact, we've been making sure of that since her birthday."

"Huh...?" Ioder looks confused. "What are you talking about...?"

"You might not have noticed, but we've been drugging her with a powerful aphrodisiac, and for the last three months, we've been making her a totally obedient sex-addict by having her have clandestine sex with the johns in the Red Light District." Nero explained.

"And now we're making her have sex with certain big-wigs to help promote Ragou's status so that he can be high enough to marry lady Estellise." Bruno added. "You've heard of his recent promotion to baron...?" Ioder nods. "Well you ca thank lady Estellise for that when she slept with duke Calvin."

"So... her recent quiet behavior... Her taste in rather...revealing clothing...And the fact that she no longer smells like bubblegum... It was all your doing...!?" Ioder was VERY surprised.

"Pretty much, master Ioder..." Nero replied. "Well her new outfits were actually suggested by earl Gradana. And guess what...? He slept with her too... Guhihihi..." He throws in Gradana's laugh for good measure.

"But why...?" Ioder asked.

"Why...? so that the Council will rule the Empire of course, with Ragou as our esteemed Emperor." Bruno triumphantly answered. "While you will end up in the dustbin of history."

"Or rather you'll just end up in Baron Ragou's personal dungeon in Nor Harbor." Nero added. "Heh heh heh, I'm certain baron Ragou will love your pretty little ass... as much as we loved lady Estellise's, I know I did." Ioder's eyes widen in terror at the possible prospect of Ragou performing that special kind of evil on him. "It look likes you know what I'm talking about, Master Ioder."

"I d-do..." Ioder stuttered. "And I don't like the way you're looking at me either..._*gulp*_..." He cowers into a corner.

"I do admit, you are quite pretty, Master Ioder..." Bruno said cornering the nervous prince. "But we promised baron Ragou that we'd deliver you to him...unsoiled, so that he may claim your purity first, then we'll have our fun with you next." the two council men turn to leave. "Have a nice voyage, prince, though I doubt your stay in Nor Harbor will be as...pleasant, Ha ha ha ha!" The two leave, locking the door, leaving Ioder tho curl himself up into a ball and tremble with fear of the pain and horror that awaits him...In That wretched hive of scum and villainy that is Capua Nor.

* * *

_**(End Part 5)**_

_**Author's Notes:**_

_**And there you have it, my interpretation of how crown prince Ioder gets kidnapped.**_

_**Some of Zagi's background is based on the fan-fic, 'No Man's Land' by Rydia Asuka. It's listed on my favorites list if any of you want to read it.**_

_**Since Zagi might not be that crazy assassin's original name, I created a pre-assassin/real name for the multicolored haired psychopath.**_

_**On Ioder's fate... Why do I get the feeling I may have given every Japanese rule-34 fan artists, and a guy named Valssu, some rather unpleasant ideas...? *sigh***_

_**Oh, well, next chapter, A maid sees a pig about a mage.**_


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